Understanding Love
by IshidaH
Summary: It takes a single moment for a person to realise that they love somebody and before they know it, everything about the other person becomes dear to them. Ryoma is not different being a human so why is it taking him so long to understand what love is?
1. Incomplete

**Title: Understanding Love**

**Summary:** It takes a single moment for a person to realise that they love somebody and before they know it, everything about the other person becomes dear to them. Ryoma is not different being a human so why is it taking him so long to understand what love is?

**Genre: **Romance; K+ → T

**Pairing: **R. Sakuno _x_ E. Ryoma

* * *

**Author's Note:** Nanjiroh and Rinko have settled in Japan, back at the temple because of a mutual decision to be near their roots, considering that Ryoma can now very well take care of himself with Ryoga tagging along whenever he is free or feels like it. The other Echizens will in general act homely towards Sakuno because they like her; at least in my interpretation they do …

The mode of communication would be as follows:

_ → E-mail or letter _

** → IMing **

*bodily response/reaction* (asterisks' enclosed)

→ Use of general emotes at certain times

→ 'Ryoma's/Sakuno's thoughts while replying to each other' (single quotation marks)

**One last note**: Regarding the Tennis related knowledge presented here, from what I have observed and read, up until you're 16, you aren't allowed to participate in the main events of US Open and only in the Junior US Open even if you're extremely good and all that. The youngest player to actually win one of the Grand Slams (Wimbledon) was Boris Becker (Germany) at the age of 17 and his matches were amazing so keeping him in mind, I have shown that Ryoma will be 19 for his very first title finding it not at all out of reason. Oh and sorry but I won't be using the names of any real players here and will just replace them with 'xxx'.

Most of my explanations to characters lie on scientific basis and so I apologise if there is still a hint of out of character behaviour for the characters included. I tried my best to satisfy everything. Having said all of that, I hope that you enjoy this and offer criticism on my work; constructive or destructive, I have to heart to take it all but please do justify your opinion too. I hope I am not asking for much though. And sorry for the long Author's Note! Sorry … Sorry!

Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a **review**!

So, without further ado, I present: **Understanding Love**

**Disclaimer**: **Prince of Tennis** and all characters are **© Takeshi Konomi**. I just played with some ideas.

* * *

_Tomorrow's the semi-final. I win that, I am one step closer to winning the US Open. However, I am not out for the title only. You know what I mean right? _

_Ryoma _

Just as he hit the 'Send' button, he wondered why he did that. This would be the first time in the past seven years that he would have _replied_ to any of her messages and this wasn't even a reply. This was a sort of memo to her about the match, not that she wouldn't have known of it, she being completely clueless, in his perspective, about pro tennis and all. And why did he add that last sentence. How would she know what he was after when they hadn't even talked that much. Echizen Ryoma felt like an idiot for the first time in a lot of years and felt that he had made a huge mistake in sending her that response. Added to that, he was now not sure of what her reply would be; if she gushed like his fan club members usually did or acted uncommonly hyper, he would not know how to handle it and if she actually made some sense in her reply, he'd be equally surprised at that. Still, putting his laptop on standby mode, he grabbed his cellphone and made his way towards the tennis courts around the corner of the street, hoping to let off some steam and focus on his match.

* * *

Noticing the mail icon flashing on her phone, Ryuuzaki Sakuno, typed her password and sat down to answer her mail on one of the nearby university benches. To say that she was shocked to see who the sender was would be an understatement. However, her shock soon gave way to happiness and she thought about her _first _reply to the Prince of Tennis considering that all she had done in the past was impart him with information regarding everything related to Seishun Gakuen. She decided on not showing her happiness however in extreme tones in the message for fear of embarrassing herself or Ryoma-kun and typed in the following response:

_Ryoma-kun, I knew about the semi-final. You're playing against 'xxx' right? I'll be rooting for you. However, I realise that you're not only after the title. The title is just a reward, a trophy in itself for you. I know you actually want to be the 1st Seed in the world and meet all sorts of players against whom you can have fun playing tennis while beating them. Best of Luck for tomorrow Ryoma-kun! Your journey in surpassing higher seeds starts from here. _

Just as she pressed the 'Send' button, she realised one more thing. That was the first response Ryoma-kun had given to her in all their years of knowing each other. Smiling, she made her way to the university gates where her Obaa-chan would be waiting for her to go back home together.

* * *

His phone buzzed in his pants pocket. If it were Ryuuzaki's reply, it was a fast response considering that he had not even gotten out of the door of his building. Otherwise, it would be one of the many reminders of his manager or the few people who had his number or personal e-mail. For some reason, unknown to himself at the moment, he hoped for it to be Ryuuzaki's response. Thinking about that, he realised that he had never really had a proper conversation with her in real or cyber life. He _had_ replied to most of her mails in the past when he first went to US after the Nationals in Freshmen year but he stopped that after he left a second time after their Senior year in Seigaku, not because he was annoyed of them but because his schedule got far too busy for some time and after that, it became a habit to read her mails and then smile/smirk in reply according to their content. If he were being true to himself, he would have been a little disappointed if she would have stopped sending them but even when he didn't reply, she still continued. Either she knew that he still read them or she must be really persistent to give up on their friendship.

Yep, friend is how he would define her even though they never talked. Friend because she didn't gush over him like others did, friend because she didn't care if he was a celebrity of sorts and still treated him like a normal human being in her mails, friend because she didn't bother with unnecessary praise and decorum with him … friend because he felt at home with her, just like he did with his family. And he was officially craving for human company now, except he wanted normal company, not that of reporters or superficial people.

He once made fun of a teacher in high school in his mind when she said that sometimes, people wanted to be near others just because they feel like it, for no particular reason and this happened especially near or around important events for them. Now that he was in the same situation, he felt surprised that it did not disgust him or make him feel weak. In a manner, he was proud to know one person apart from his family with whom he could be natural. Anyhow, putting these thoughts aside for the moment, he unlocked his phone and checked the notification … And Score! It was a reply from Ryuuzaki and that put an instant smirk on his face.

Her response put him in a momentary shock! She had nailed the reason he was playing! Tennis was not just titles and trophies for him, it was being the best of the best and she knew what he was talking about.

"Heh … Ryuuzaki, not bad. You make sense when you're not stuttering," he said to himself in his usual tone.

Pulling the brim of his cap near his face, he stopped near the vending machine just outside his building and started replying while pushing in a coin for a drink. He could be sentimental in his response to her or he could actually pick on her in that response. Feeling that he actually wanted to talk to her for a little longer without feeling the need to possibly gag later, he chose the obvious course for a prolonged conversation:

_My journey in surpassing higher seeds starts Now, Ryuuzaki?! What do you think I was doing in these past years, drinking Ponta or sleeping and wasting my time watching the stars?! _

_Ryoma_

Satisfied that his response would send her into an instant dogeza of apologies, he resumed his journey towards the courts all the while waiting for her reply.

* * *

Sakuno's phone beeped once just as she was sitting inside the car. Greeting her Obaa-chan with her smile and a nod of the head, she threw her bag in the backseat while making herself comfortable in her seat. She started on the stories of how her day had been while her Obaa-chan drove them home.

The elder Ryuuzaki listened to her granddaughter talking about her classes and friends. It was a habit of them, she listening to Sakuno talk while on the way home when the younger girl would recount even the slightest incident that had happened. It seemed like a pretty normal day for Sakuno and when she had finished, a peaceful silence enveloped the car. The silence was broken however, when Sumire heard her granddaughter say very softly something about replying and mails.

"Huh? What are you saying Saa-chan? I didn't get you the first time," she asked her young ward.

"Ryoma-kun replied to my mails today Obaa-chan," Sakuno repeated, "Well not technically replied but he sent me a message some while ago and just now if I am correct, I haven't checked the message I received just while sitting in the car."

"Well, why don't you check it then?" Sumire asked the younger girl as she noticed her from the side.

"I don't know … why did he message me so out of the blue anyway?" Sakuno asked her grandma turning towards her with pleading eyes.

"I don't know Saa-chan and you wouldn't too unless you reply. You know what I told you last time too, right? Ryoma is just a little slow when it comes to social interactions and maybe he just felt lonely. Besides, I also remember telling you that if Ryoma were annoyed with your mails, he would have told you directly to stop contacting him. The fact that he never said that and just stopped replying meant that he was not annoyed and in fact okay with you sending him mails. That's just the way he is, you know," Sumire replied to her granddaughter understanding the pleading tone in her eyes all too well. She knew that Sakuno was dejected when Ryoma had stopped replying to her yet she continued to tell her to talk to him because she knew for sure that he didn't find her annoying as Sakuno seemed to view it.

Sakuno seemed to understand what her Obaa-chan said and proceeded to check the notification. Her initial happiness at getting a letter from Ryoma-kun had faded away to be left with a more rational feeling of curiosity as to why he replied. She understood that he had a busy schedule, far busier than most of them ever had but when he had stopped replying, she still felt a little sad. For some reason, she blamed it on herself when he had done that however, her Obaa-chan had told her to continue doing that and for some reason the Echizen family too so she had complied with all of their wishes and continued with the daily mails lessening their frequency to once a week only when she had entered university five months ago. Taking a moment to rationalise her feelings, she took out her phone and checked the message.

Sumire noticed the young girl giggle as she read the message and a smile spread across her face. It had been a long time since she had seen her granddaughter smile like this. Sakuno had always been a calm girl, mature for her age, always reserved but ever since Ryoma had stopped replying when they started High School in different parts of the world, she had become more reserved and quiet. It pained Sumire to see her like that but she knew that Sakuno was not one of those empty-headed girls but rather those who appreciated once and held their opinions so seeing her laugh now at a single message made her feel happy for her too.

Sakuno giggled at the obviousness of the response she had received and proceeded to reply:

_I don't know Ryoma-kun. I didn't realise that stars came out during the day in States. From what I remember, you only stared at the sky or napped on roofs during the day and let's not start on the Ponta, shall we? _

* * *

_-Pok-_

What was taking her so long?

_-Pok-_

All she had to do was type in a little response, a small sorry.

_-Pok-_

She really is taking her time replying isn't she? Trying my patience.

_-Pok-_

_**buzz**_

_-Pok-_

_**buzz**_

_-Pok-_

_**buzz**_

_-Pok-_

'Oh, she sent a reply,' Ryoma thought as he caught the ball coming towards him in his hand, 'And I am acting like a lovesick teenager because of just a reply,' he added for good measure at himself berating himself because he was thinking not of his match tomorrow but something else.

He checked out the reply and could not help but laugh at the response. He expected two or three 'Sorry(s)' at the least not a witty response.

"Ryuuzaki, when did you get this much confidence," he said to himself in a small voice, "I'm going to have fun teasing you now," he added as his eyes narrowed, a glint in themselves and shining at what was going through his mind now.

_Why? Are you afraid that you'll lose to me in an argument on Ponta?_

* * *

_No! I won't lose to an inanimate object in an argument. You and I both just know about your obsession with Ponta and so I decided to not talk about it. _

Sakuno replied frowning a little. She knew that she might lose if Ryoma started giving answers on why he drank a lot of Ponta but she was not about to tell him that. For some reason, she got the feeling that he just wanted to tease her and she wanted to do nothing more for the moment than show that she was not to be teased easily.

* * *

_Does this mean that you'll lose in an argument against me? _

'Shoot! Why did I send that response? What is wrong with me,' Ryoma asked himself a few seconds later as he realised what he sent her as a response.

Practicing stopped, Ryoma sat on a bench in the grounds waiting for the dewdrops to disappear as he saw the sun rising up. The setting and his mood led him to contemplate about himself and things related. He had never had such a nonsensical conversation with anyone except for Momo-senpai, especially one that he enjoyed so much. By the time he had left Japan, he was aware of the changes taking place in all his classmates but never in his dreams would he have realised that the usually soft-spoken, shy Ryuuzaki would one day turn into this girl who was giving him straight answers.

He was looking forward to her reply with each passing moment that was for sure, however, he also knew that he couldn't afford to be distracted by them a lot because he had to prepare for an important match. A sense of loss also filled him for all the years lost that he could have spent talking to her when she mailed him. When her responses had stopped coming daily, he had thought that she had finally stopped talking to him. For some reason, he felt sad at that but when he saw her mail on Saturday, all was right within him.

She never talked about herself or him, about things in general and he always saw her updates as an escape, an escape from the things that were so superficially around them. He didn't know that when he stopped replying, she had felt sad but he knew that if anything were to happen to anyone of their acquaintances, he could count on her for keeping him aware. In a sense, he depended on her for information regarding what was happening at home.

She was actually one of the countable people who had his personal ID and he actually did not regret her having it considering she never abused his inbox with unwanted forward messages. Moreover, she did not demand anything as a response from him. He concluded that he could be his usual self around her and she won't say a word about it because she was Ryuuzaki, his one friend who understood a lot about him despite saying a word to him on his face. Maybe he was being irrational but he had a feeling somewhere deep down that if he ever wanted somebody to spend his life with him, he would choose someone like Ryuuzaki. It was then that he found himself asking the question:

'Why someone _like _Ryuuzaki, why not Ryuuzaki herself?'

'Because it's just the setting making me think like this and some nostalgic feelings for home. Now get up Ryoma and make your way back to your room,' his more conscious, more rational part of him answered that question as he made his way back towards his apartment.

'You know if your words or actions were as thorough as your thoughts, you wouldn't be agonising so much over something small like this. Instead you'd be enjoying the dawn with thoughts of Ryuuzaki.'

'And I knew that our coach was an idiot for asking a psychologist to give us seminars on conscious and subconscious thinking. Sportsmen, do not need any of that nonsense, period!'

'You're escaping from the truth, you know. You like her company.'

'Never denied that,' the rational part added with a scoff.

'Nay … you like her more than just for her company. You like the idea of her.'

'Naturally. She doesn't fawn over me like the others do.'

'I might as well just spell it out to you that you love her.'

'Don't be ridiculous. I haven't even seen her in four years or so …'

'So? Love isn't all about looks, you know.'

'Stop it.'

'And you're in denial.'

'I won't dignify that remark with a response.'

'You just did.'

_Inui-senpai, please send me Ryuuzaki Sakuno's number. ASAP!_

_Ryoma_

And before he knew it, Ryoma had sent an email to his senpai requesting information regarding the subject of his thoughts. If anybody, the Data King would have known that information even if he had gone out of touch with all the old Regulars which seemed a little unlikely though. That was his second impulsive mail of the day and he was still trying to lock his subconscious from popping out again saying stuff about him being in love. This day was not going to proceed smoothly, the teenager thought as he entered his apartment.

* * *

Back in Japan, two people stared at their respective inbox in shock.

Sakuno Ryuuzaki, blinked her eyes in wonder as a small 'Hai' escaped her and she slid out of the car, reaching her home. She had no suitable reply for the moment and so tried to focus on her routine activities on returning home while trying to ignore the last reply.

While in a dorm in the University of Tokyo, a spiky-haired man in bifocals muttered something about Echizen not being completely dumb but a little slow after adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he recovered from a shock due to the mail he received from his kouhai. Giving the information asked of him, he took out a small green notebook and wrote something in it declaring:

'Probability that Sakuno-chan will receive a long distance call tonight: 100%."

* * *

**A/N: **The idea for this came while watching the end of Prince of Tennis: Nationals Tournament. I am not sure if anybody has already written something like this or not but it was an original for me at least. However, contrary to the usual scenario of PoT, there will be a few changes to the characters and scenario:

Both Ryoma and Sakuno are around 19 years of age in this and it has been assumed that they have been pen pals ever since Ryoma left- well at least one-sided pen pals initially. Even though Ryoma met Sakuno after he left, their face-to-face interactions have been pretty much like those of the anime. However, Sakuno is bolder when it comes to writing letters possibly because they both grew up or because she is confident when not facing him.

Having known Sakuno via letters, mails and messages all through his teenage life, Ryoma is comfortable with her to the extent of what will be his written response in the following letters. That along with the fact that it is easier to converse or say things when you are not able to see the other person's face is my justification for the way they interact. Oh, and it is my personal experience that in such interactions, even the most reclusive (read: asocial, absorbed in his/her world) person can be quite talkative as my friends tend to point out so Ryoma's replies for me were justified at least.

Oh, and it might sound crazy to you guys but for people who don't talk a lot in real life, having conversations in two different tones like these in their minds is pretty normal.

Please, be nice as this is my first fan-fiction for this pairing. I'd love to receive your feedback. Thank you!


	2. Love Like This

**Love Like This**

**Author's Note: **Thank you for the amazing reviews everyone and all those who put this story on alert/favourite too, you have my deepest gratitude. It would be dishonest to say that I was excited when I saw the response because I was hyper-excited as I put in a lot of research and basis into my plots and besides, **Understanding Love** is also my first story for the **Anime/Manga** category! Hope you all continue to read and support this story. As always, the ideas are based entirely on real life experiences of friends, I had no intention of copying ideas from other authors.

Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a **review**! To all of my previous reviewers, I will definitely leave a personal response later but at the moment I am bedridden due to a surgery and asking my sister to upload the typed chapters and can't give detailed responses. Sorry about that!

**Disclaimer**: **Prince of Tennis** and all characters are **© Takeshi Konomi**. I just played with some ideas.

* * *

Echizen Ryoma knew that Inui-senpai would only gather data on his request and not go around talking to every random person about the probability of him being interested in talking to Ryuuzaki. Thanking his senior in a concise manner typical of him, he waited for Ryuuzaki's reply to his last mail. He had an idea that he had effectively gained a point of advantage over her but it did not mean that he was done talking to her. He was enjoying their random talk far more than he cared to admit. However, he was soon becoming impatient. Ten minutes had passed and the girl had not replied so he just decided to send her a message on her number.

He decided to start by being anonymous since he knew that she would not have his number and he could tease her for three or four more messages if she became flustered like her knew her to do so in unknown situations. Formulating a brief exchange in his mind, he sent her his first message:

_It's much better here._

* * *

Ryuuzaki Sakuno noted her phone beeping once more. She knew that Ryoma-kun would never answer or send her another message unless she replied. Besides, for a person like him, he had actually held up quite a long conversation by his standards so deciding that the message must be important, she chose to check it at the moment rather than leaving it for later. She was right, it was not a notification for an e-mail but rather a message from an unknown number which in itself brought a frown on her face. Various thoughts crossed her mind:

'I don't know the person … Should I respond or not?'

'What if it is somebody important?'

'Maybe one of the Senpai-tachi changed their number? Or one of the Sensei-tachi is messaging me … But why would they send such a message then?'

'Ah! I guess I'll reply after all, no harm in it if a misunderstanding is cleared.'

_Who is this? _

* * *

Ryoma expected that response. Well he expected some sort of confusion typed in the response as well but since that was not provided, he assumed it to be there- after all, who typed incoherent phrases or inarticulate sounds in a message. Still, he knew that it would not be Ryuuzaki-ish if it were a coherent response, and that too in one try. Feeling particularly smug at the moment and smirking to himself, he typed in the following response:

_I can't believe you forgot me Sa-ku-no. _

'Sakuno … her name sounds lovely,' he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and pulled his cap lower over them, hitting the 'Send' button.

'Ryoma, you are becoming a softy,' and in a sudden reversal of roles, his subconscious became taunting and rational.

'It's not being a softy, it's just a phase … of wanting human company and its natural consequences.'

'Sure~ it's just as you say,' mocked his subconscious as Ryoma, stretched on his sofa, tried to block it out yet again.

* * *

When Sakuno saw the reply, she nearly dropped her phone in shock. She did not know _anybody_ who was on a first name basis with her except for her best friend, Tomoka and the last time she checked, the brown-haired, loud mouthed girl had not changed her number. Thinking about whether she should continue responding or not, she went upstairs to her room, dropping her bag near her side table and made way to her cupboard. When five minutes had passed and the unknown number had still not messaged her, she decided to reply as something assured her that the person who had contacted her was not fluking on her name and was definitely someone who was waiting for a reply. Picking up her phone, she typed in the following response:

_I'm sorry, I don't remember giving anybody the authority to call me by my name. I repeat: Who are you? And what do you want?_

She hoped that she did not sound rude but a misunderstanding had to be cleared and she had to move on with her day.

* * *

Ryoma was still in that reclining pose when he noticed the familiar vibration of his phone. Opening his eyes, he opened the message, a little annoyed that Sakuno took five minutes to just send him an alternate version of her previous reply. He never expected her to grow a backbone like this when encountered with unfamiliar situations.

'You have grown up Ryuuzaki. And apparently, you are still single, every bit of the traditional girl that you were,' Ryoma thought to himself as he decided to stop the teasing. Once again, for an unknown reason, he felt an elated feeling at reading the implied fact that nobody had been able to come near Sakuno when he was away.

He thought about the times they had spent as kids in Junior High and how his Senpai-tachi used to tease him about her or go about their ways trying to force them upon each other. He was not unaware of their plans or her feelings; yes, Ryoma Echizen, was not dense when it came to people or situations around him, he just preferred to not invite trouble towards himself and his tennis. Besides, who had heard of twelve year olds being focused on relationships or feelings, especially twelve year old _males_. Most kids that age were very reasonably thinking about their sports, classes, consoles, books, pets or toys depending on their pick.

According to him, relationships were best left to people when they knew the meaning of that word and the responsibilities coming along with it, it wasn't something to just rush along with just because everybody else around was entering into one or your friends were telling you to go along with it.

Coming out of his reverie however, he decided to reply properly to Sakuno as he still felt like talking to her. He knew that it was a Saturday and that if he wouldn't have contacted her, she would still have sent her weekly update but something in him was itching for human company.

_Ryuuzaki, it's just me, Ryoma. _

He decided against adding an apology because he knew that she'd understand what he was doing … or at least hoped she would because in all senses, he was travelling on uncharted waters with her at this moment never before having such a conversation or knowing her all that well or for that matter, he had not gone on such a journey with anybody of the same or opposite sex.

* * *

Sakuno was going through her drawers to find something to wear for the evening when her phone beeped once more notifying her of a message which turned out to be none other than her previous correspondent. She was surprised to realise that Ryoma-kun had her number but then guessed that he must have gotten it from any one of the Senpai-tachi and if it were her pick, he would have gone to Inui-senpai simply because of his discreetness. Smiling to herself, she typed in the following response:

_Gomen Ryoma-kun, I had no idea that you'd have my number or should I say that I'll have to confront Inui-senpai and ask him if he has a privacy policy or not regarding his friends. _

* * *

Confront him, she'll have to do but after she found out why Ryoma wanted to talk to her all of a sudden.

The almost instantaneous response Ryoma got meant that the girl had ignored his previous message and decided to talk to him. Her response actually made him stifle a laugh; how did she know that he had gotten the number from Inui-senpai and this is what he decided to ask in his response:

_Inui-senpai? Why would you want to confront him? _

He asked feigning innocence though trying to actually size up Ryuuzaki in his conversation. So far, she had not given a lot of expected replies and he felt himself getting interested.

* * *

Deciding to postpone her shower for just some time so as to formally think of an excuse, Sakuno put her clothes on her bed and replied:

_Because you would not trust anybody else to be discreet when it came to asking my number. All the other Senpai-tachi would have teased you and asked you unnecessary questions while Inui-senpai would have just gathered date and kept quiet about it. _

From his feigned response, she had confirmed that he had indeed asked Inui-senpai senpai for the number but what interested her now was why he did not want others to know that he was talking to her bringing her back to her first question: why did he want to talk to her?

* * *

Ryoma Echizen had never expected himself to be clearly read by anybody much less a girl whom he remembered to be clumsy, forgetful, navigationally challenged and a bad tennis player, not that all of these had much bearing on the situation at hand but still, that was all he knew about her. However, for some reason, he did not find it unsettling that Ryuuzaki knew who told him her number and why he was that choice for information. He found it a little comforting that for all that was said about him and his attitude, he was understood by somebody apart from his family in this world, even if it was one person on the other end of the world.

_You're right about the reason I chose him. I am not sure why but I wanted to talk to somebody in peace, somebody who would understand me and not be pretentious and you are the first person who came to my mind. _

He was not sure why he added that last part but it was the truth and denying it would mean that he'd be lying to himself that he always commended Ryuuzaki's courage for bearing up with him and trying to keep up a friendship despite his lack of participation in it.

* * *

Yet again, Ryuuzaki Sakuno was left speechless that day for in just the simplest of words, Ryoma-kun had told her what she was asking herself and her Obaa-chan since the first reply and for the first time that day, she smiled genuinely.

_Ryoma-kun … Arigatou … :)_

The simple emote was all she could put to convey what she felt at the moment and she wondered if Ryoma-kun would be able to realise what his message meant to her.

* * *

Ryoma could practically imagine Ryuuzaki smiling in that infectious way when he read her response and he felt good that he was the reason that smile was on her face. There was no denying now that he liked Ryuuzaki, maybe more than just a friend. That simple reply and emote had in a sense broken a lot of barriers they had assumed between themselves and opened up a path for conversation.

_No problem. _

There was a smile on his face as he sent that message but he was too Ryoma-ish to actually put an emote into his message. Besides why give away his state of mind to her when he had a feeling that he knew his expression for each message.

* * *

Since there was no invitation to initiate further conversation in his reply, Sakuno got up and decided to take a shower before something else came up and demanded attention. Making her way towards the bathroom, she gave one last look to her phone which had changed her mood considerably in such a short period of time.

'Obaa-chan! Don't start on the dinner, I'll prepare it myself after I'm done with my shower!' Sakuno shouted down the stairs before entering the bathroom.

'Don't worry about dinner Saa-chan! We are ordering tonight, remember it's Saturday,' the older lady replied up the stairs as she chuckled to herself about her granddaughter forgetting their age-old habit. She could sense the younger girl's happiness in her shout and felt immensely happy herself at the change in her mood.

* * *

Ten minutes had passed and she had not replied. Ryoma was growing impatient which wasn't exactly something new for the day but still, this time it annoyed him more than before. He would have thought that she would now easily talk to him however, the wait was making him lose his nerve and making him question himself if he had given an inappropriate response.

_Where did you go, Ryuuzaki? Why the long wait? _

'For someone who claims that they are not interested in anything besides tennis, you sure are acting funnily.'

Ryoma groaned as he noticed his subconscious appearing, enjoying at the sake of his conscious state and willed it to go away but for some reason, when it did not, he simply replied with, 'I never said that I was only interested in tennis.'

'Ah … so you _are_ interested in Ryuuzaki!'

'What is with you and Ryuuzaki?' Ryoma asked his subconscious interested for the first time in the workings of his mind.

'Oh nothing, nothing. No particular interest,' and changing it's tone, the mocking subconscious continued, 'You know many pros are married, living with their families and have kids.'

'As interesting as it sounds, what has this got to do with me?'

'Just a fact for you in case you ever want to go down that road,' replied the subconscious gleefully.

'Hn.'

And then he was brought out of his third 'crazy' conversation of the day by the vibration of his phone. Grabbing it in excitement, he opened it and his face fell on seeing who the message was from. It was a notification of his brother being online via E-buddy.

**Ryoga: Yo Chibisuke! How's practice? Want me to come on over for some friendly competition? **

Judging his brother's past record, Ryoma had no doubt that his brother would actually come on over even on hint of the slightest interest shown in favour of his suggestion so he decided to reject his offer.

**Ryoma: No. I'm fine as it is. **

**Ryoga: You sure? **

**Ryoma: Yeah. Perfectly. **

**Ryoga: Oh well, I was just asking in fun. I wouldn't want to leave my dear student behind for you in any case. Oyaji might do something fun I'll miss then. Well then, ja! **

**Ryoma: Ja! **

And then it hit him, what student was Ryoga talking about with whom he was on very friendly terms? And who would actually want to be taught by his stupid Oyaji and Aniki? And what did he mean by the three of them doing something fun?! What sort of fun were they talking about anyway? He decided to ask Sakuno all of those questions when she came back … _if_ she came back …

'Sakuno … what is taking you so long!' Ryoma groaned as he stretched his legs and put them on the table in front of the sofa and closed his eyes.

* * *

When Sakuno came out of the shower and checked her phone, she noticed two messages. One from Tomo-chan asking about her plans for tomorrow and the other from Ryoma-kun. She decided to reply the former first with her schedule and then to the latter regarding why she was late with:

_Gomen Ryoma-kun, I thought that was the signal for the end of conversation so I decided to take a shower. Anyhow, I was wondering how is messaging better than e-mail? _

* * *

Nineteen years or not, emotionally mature or not, somebody should have told Ryuuzaki Sakuno that telling a guy that you were in a shower was a dangerous thing. This was what crossed Ryoma's mind as he read the reply which came while he was deciding on what to eat for breakfast because as soon as he was done with the first thought, his mind conjured up the image of a steamy bathroom. However, the imagery missed something: Ryuuzaki Sakuno herself because he did not know how she looked like right now and his imagination lacked the necessary details to conjure her up.

It was then that he also realised that Genetics existed and worked! The shower fact could easily be attributed to the fifty percent from his father while the missing portion to his mother. However, he noted to himself to tell Ryuuzaki something about that and not to be too honest when it came to answering what she was doing to friends. Still, inspite of everything, a grin found it's way on his face as he replied:

_I have no idea. _

However, he never really sent it as he thought that there really was no difference between e-mails, IMs and messages. So, deciding to fix that problem, he decided to call her and then continue the conversation.

* * *

Sakuno was rubbing moisturiser on her legs when she heard her phone ringing. Using her little finger to answer it on speaker without looking at the contact, she greeted her caller:

"Hello?"

If Ryoma was expecting her voice to be sweet, it was beyond his expectations when he actually heard it. Her voice was homely, to say the least, just like the rest of her persona for him not the shouting, annoying loud kind he was used to hearing. Taking in a deep breath to contain his swirly thoughts and errant mind, he gripped his phone tightly, closed his eyes trying to imagine her in front of him and said:

"_I have no idea."_

"Eh? Ryoma-kun?! What are you doing?!" Sakuno nearly screamed in shock, upsetting the moisturiser bottle making it drip down her leg in rather copious amounts.

"_What else Ryuuzaki? Talking to you," _if Ryoma had any doubts of the girl having presence of mind when she was messaging, they disappeared when she asked that question.

"I know that! I meant that for … no … never mind," Sakuno replied a little ticked off at Ryoma's response.

"_What? Oh and one quick question?" _

"What 'what'? And sure."

He could feel her smiling at the 'sure' but he had no time for that at the moment. He had to know things about her to complete his picture of her in his mind. So wasting no time, he asked her:

"_What do you mean 'what what'? Oh and what are you wearing?" _

"Nothing …" _"Heh …"_

"No! No! I meant that for the first part!" **sigh** "Ryoma-kun … I am wearing clothes," Sakuno replied in a disapproving tone.

"_Clothes? What sort?" _Ryoma continued, frowning. It didn't occur to him that his questions might come across a bit unnatural to somebody who would have listened in to their conversation or even Sakuno because he was concentrating on his image of her and he couldn't help it if his mind was singularly-tracked.

"Ummm … Just clothes. White top and skirt," Sakuno replied unsure about Ryoma's motives on asking these questions.

"_Hn. What about hair?"_ he continued as a sleek, toned body in a white shirt and skirt settled in his mind. The face his imagination supplied from memory of Junior High, he assuming that it would not have changed much over the years.

"Still the same length as when you left, lying loose, just brushed them."

"_Hn." _

'Perfect!' He said to himself in his mind as the image was completed and now that he was actually done with it, he wondered what to do next and why was he so eager in conjuring up an image in the first place.

"Ummm … Ryoma-kun, if I may ask a question, what was this all about?"

"_What was all what about?" _

"You know, the questions about my appearance."

"_Oh that! Well I wanted to put a face to your appearance in my mind since I haven't really seen you in a long time." _

"Oh … I see … what did you think I was asking before?"

"_About why I called." _

"Well I did ask that before too but …"

"_I called because I realised you were right, there is no difference in sending a mail or message." _

"Ah. I know. So are you excited about your match tomorrow?" Sakuno asked the obvious question hoping to talk for a longer time even when she knew the answer.

However, to Ryoma's credit, he avoided being sarcastic at the question and continued giving answers to all her queries. Sumire, noticing that Sakuno was having fun talking to Ryoma decided to eat by herself in the lounge while handing a plate to Sakuno in her room only to receive a thanks in eyes so grateful that she felt they were reward in itself for bringing her dinner.

* * *

Somewhere around 11:30 pm that night, Sumire got a telephone call asking for her attendance by ten in the morning for a meeting of Under-17 Tennis Coaches nationwide in Kyoto. Swiftly packing an overnight case, Sumire called Nanjiroh asking him to pick up Sakuno from her house while she made her way to the airport. When she made her way to Sakuno's room, she heard her laughter and wasn't surprised by a lot to see her still talking to her only Prince. Knocking on her door, Sumire went inside and told Sakuno of the meeting and the part about Nanjiroh coming to pick her up. Sakuno nodded her yes and Sumire went outside to check everything.

"Ne, Ryoma-kun? Obaa-chan is leaving for a meeting. Even though she made other plans, I want to accompany her to the airport at least. Do you think you can excuse me for some time?"

"_Really? But we just started talking." _

"I am pretty sure that we have been doing that for the past 4 hours or so. Please Ryoma-kun?"

**sigh** _"Okay … but tell me when you get done with that." _

"Hai!"

"_Hey Ryuuzaki?" _

"Hai?"

"_I had fun today … Arigatou …" _

"You're welcome Ryoma-kun. It was a pleasure. And sorry for leaving like this."

"_No problem. Let's do this again later," _Ryoma added with a longing lilt in his voice. He had more fun than he would care to admit and already he was feeling a little lonely when he realised that he had an entire day to spend now that Sakuno was leaving.

"Hai … Ganbatte! Ja …"

"_Ja!"_

As soon as she put down the phone, Sakuno ran out of the room and shouted down the stairs, "Obaa-chan! Wait! I am coming with you! No need to tell Oji-sama to pick me up! I'll drive you to the airport and then go to his house from there!"

"Hmmm? Well this does sound like a good plan but I'll drive till the airport and then you can carry on to his place," Sumire replied as she saw her granddaughter leaning down the staircase waiting for her reply.

"Okay! Lets go!" Sakuno said as she ran down the stairs and carried the suitcase and put it in the backseat of the car and checked a bag for her grandmother's medicines.

As both of the women made their way outside, they forgot to do one important thing, call Nanjiroh to tell him not to pick up Sakuno.

* * *

Driving through the empty roads, both Sakuno and Sumire were involved in small talk when they saw a lone bright light ahead of them aiming straight for their car. At a 700 feet distance, Sumire thought that they would have seen a car's headlights and moved to the right or left, out of its way at least but as the distance lessened to 500 feet and still no action seemed to have been taken by the driver, Sumire tried to move her car towards the right. A stray dog suddenly appeared from behind a hedge right before the car towards the direction she was moving and Sumire instantly swerved to the left a little too fast to avoid hitting both the dog and the motorcycle.

However, in doing this, she lost control of the car and they both went crashing into the lamp post on the sidewalk. There was a loud crash in the quiet street and then all was quiet. Sakuno's last thought before crashing was about her Obaa-chan and why did she not force her to drive while that of Sumire was a little sorry to her Saa-chan for not going to be there to see her graduating, marrying and enjoying a full, healthy life.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I plan to finish this story as soon as possible! University opens on Monday and I don't want to keep on dragging this into even the next month. Please leave your thoughts on this chapter and thank you for reading!


	3. Without You

**Without You**

**Author's Note: **Hello again everyone! Still ordered to stay on bed unless I want to be grounded and can't connect to the net from my laptop for the life of me so if you reviewed, you have my thanks, if you put this on alert or favourite, you have some more of my thanks for putting faith in this story.

I actually forgot to tell you guys something before, if the last conversation came across as cheesy/improbable, it was all real! Yes real because a senior of mine had this conversation with whoever she was on the phone with when I was in my A' Levels while me and my best friend were doing maths in the common room except that the guy there deliberately asked those provoking questions while Ryoma had a far purer intent of conjuring up just an image, or so I happened to think of these two situations when I was typing.

Once again:

Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a **review**! To all of my previous reviewers, I will definitely leave a personal response later but at the moment I am bedridden due to a surgery and asking my sister to upload the typed chapters and can't give detailed responses. Sorry about that!

**Disclaimer**: **Prince of Tennis** and all characters are **© Takeshi Konomi**. I just played with some ideas.

* * *

Nanjiroh Echizen had never been known for being a very responsible, sensible adult around his household but when his old coach called him asking if he could pick up her granddaughter from their house because she had to leave for an emergency meeting, he jumped to the opportunity. Not because of the old coach though but because of the little girl herself who happened to be the only girl he liked closest to a daughter and who he had decided to make her daughter whether his idiot of a son liked it or not.

Getting up from his bed, he told his wife where he was leaving for and why and made his way outside. It was pretty common for the old coach to leave her ward in the Echizen household ever since Sakuno entered High School and Sumire had to leave for overnight meetings simply because it was safer for the girl to live with friends rather than staying alone. It had been a little awkward at first for Sakuno but soon she got used to the Echizen household and later came to enjoy her stay there whenever she got the chance.

On one of her trips there, she was suddenly asked by Nanjiroh about her tennis and from that day onwards he started teaching her little by little and improving her game. Whereas Rinko Echizen just talked to Sakuno about mutual interests and sometimes about her life in America. In her first year, she came across Nanako, Ryoma's cousin, and became natural friends with her but the older girl later got married and left the household only coming to visit occasionally and calling the younger girl whenever she was in the neighbourhood.

A new addition to her life came in the form of Ryoga Echizen who was the older brother of Ryoma Echizen in all departments: looks, attitude and general disposition towards all people around him. However, to his credit, he did not act in that bratty way towards Sakuno because after whistling at his younger brother's subconscious choice of a girlfriend (he saw that she had one of Ryoma's racket with her) and his dad's choice at a future family member, he decided to tease Sakuno for all things about her much to her chagrin. The teasing was what made Sakuno sure that they were in fact brothers and she refused to believe that Ryoga was adopted claiming that he was a xerox copy of Ryoma-kun and Oji-sama in everything causing the family to erupt in laughter at her expense.

The advent of Ryoga meant that Sakuno now had two tennis teachers, both of whom had a special 'Sakuno' complex and both of whom had a huge part in her growing up. Refusing to believe that their 'Saa-chan' could be clumsy, navigationally challenged and not proficient in English, they both started a string of activities to counter that. They would occasionally leave her stranded in a random locale and make her come home from there all the while following her in case something happened to her. Then at other times, they would deliberately check her balance by making her walk with tennis rackets on her head and going up and down the path of the temple on their property. Working on her English was easy. They simply refused to speak anything else around her and soon Sakuno caught up to them.

One would wonder if these two were really free with that much time on their hands but then it was nothing but the truth that these two guys were really smitten by the homeliness of the little girl and wanted nothing more than having her as a daughter/sister. The only thing they could not change about her, however, were her hair. She refused to get them cut saying that her Oka-san used to say that a girl's beauty were her hair and on that fact, Rinko and Nanako sided with her with subtle vehemence. So, going in a roundabout way with that, they just made her get rid of the braids and style them.

Yep, the eldest Echizen and his son were really free and needed something other than tennis to occupy their time with and that is what her friends and Senpai-tachi thought on seeing her every time they noticed something new about her.

These thoughts and all sorts of plans were going through Nanjiroh Echizen's mind as he drove to the Ryuuzaki household. Two years ago, they had changed their home and opted to move to a relatively secluded area and so as he drove past the five minute patch of unoccupied road, he was surprised to see one of the street light blinking as if malfunctioned however, paying not much attention to it, he continued on. He screeched his car to a stop as he neared though on seeing the familiar car of his old coach just below the street light.

Panicking, he got out and made his way to the car and the scene of accident. He called 911 and ran towards the car. There was no blood on the scene, he thanked Kami-sama as he checked both the elder and younger Ryuuzaki. He checked their pulses and breathing. The old coach had not sustained any visible injury due to the airbag coming out at the impact but was dead. Meanwhile Sakuno had sustained no massive injuries, she had passed out due to the impact hitting her head on the dashboard in all probability but was alive and breathing.

Waiting for the ambulance was an ordeal in itself but when it finally came, Nanjiroh accompanied it and called his family telling them about the situation.

* * *

Ryoma Echizen was woken from his nap by the sound of birds chirping outside his apartment. It was five in the evening. He had fallen asleep waiting for Sakuno's message which was still not there apparently. Noticing the time he let that fact slide though as he figured her to be asleep and went outside to buy a small snack for himself and practice for some time.

When the day had passed and still no message came or his usual weekly update, he felt a little edgy. However, he tried to put all of that at the back of his mind and tried to focus on his upcoming match. The day soon passed and tired from all the practice, Ryoma came back and fell asleep almost instantly dreaming of Sakuno in America clad in standard white tennis garb and cheering for him from the bleachers.

He woke up that morning to see still no message from his companion. Willing his mind to a shut down state, he made his way towards the stadium for his match which was the first Semi-Final for the competition. The match came and went, he won but there was still no message from home, not even from his annoying brother. He wondered if they had even followed his match but decided to not dwell on it too much. However, the subtle pain he felt at being forgotten like this was eating his insides, it being new to him and all that. Added to that fact was the disturbing idea of Sakuno's phone being currently switched off.

A week passed. The day of the finals arrived and there was still no contact from home or Sakuno. Ryoma felt a little dispirited. Even his subconscious was not popping up and trying to annoy his conscious self. As he made his way to the arena, old memories surfaced; those of playing with his Senpai-tachi, losing to Tezuka Buchou and then finally beating him, going for the nationals, unlocking the doors to the State of Self - Actualisation, making friends, eating burgers or sushi and being cheered on by Sakuno. And then the frequency of those thoughts changed to Sakuno and all the mails she sent him over all those years, her messages just a few days ago and her laughter as they talked till late.

Just as his name was being announced and he was leaving the changing area, his phone beeped. A part of him hoping that it was some sort of confirmation about his existence from home and when he saw the contact and message, the messenger was forgiven for the delay and a small smile found its way on his face. The smile grew to a grin as he entered the court amidst clapping and cheering from the spectators. He was going to win and he would definitely go home with his head held high in front of his father and brother.

* * *

"Saa-chan, are you sure you want me to send this message?" Ryoga asked Sakuno as she was lying on her bed in a private room in the General Hospital.

"Yes Ryo-niki. Please?" Sakuno said as she eyed Ryoga, who only sighed and typed in the following message to his brother:

_Fight-o Ryoma-kun! You can do this! After all you have to become Number 1! _

A week had passed since the terrifying accident. Sakuno had just stared at the sheet-enclosed body of her Obaa-chan with guilty eyes and bid her silent goodbye. She had not uttered a single word in the entire burial, only stared ahead with glazed eyes as she recounted all of the times spent with her. Sakuno lost her parents when she was very young so it was natural that what she remembered of them was vague memories and certain moments but ever since that day, she had known only one person, her Obaa-chan.

She remembered everything that they had done together ever since she was a kid just as if all that had happened a day ago. The first time they ordered food at home, their first dine-out, Sumire tying Sakuno's hair in braids for the first time and teaching her how to do it, their first time baking a cake, making traditional food, shopping for the Festival of Lights, visiting the shrine at New Year to pray together. Sakuno remembered the support her Obaa-chan had given her during those days when Ryoma-kun had stopped responding to her and she felt heartbroken, the gentle voice of her grandmother lulling her to sleep as she cried with her head in the older woman's lap, hugging her knees. She remembered their trip to the barber to style her hair when the teasing of her extended family of the Echizens got too much. The laughs they shared with each other, their silent tears when remembering family members lost.

She remembered all this and much more and all that made the pain of separation from her only family all the more hurtful for her. But amidst all the grief, she was guilty too. Guilty of not forcing her Obaa-chan to sit on the passenger's seat while she drove because in her logic, if she would have done that, she would have been the one lying on the shroud and not her Obaa-chan. She refused to believe the doctors when they said that Sumire Ryuuzaki had died of a cardiac arrest because of the lost of control on the car and not the impact. The doctors were lying and everybody else was lying too when they said that it was not her fault that her Obaa-chan had died.

And so the brunette sat on her bed, propped up by pillows and talking to her 'Aniki'. She remembered something about the finals of US Open being that day and so asked her brother to send forth that message to Ryoma-kun. Sakuno and the Echizen family had decided to keep the death of Sumire Ryuuzaki a quiet affair for some time on Sakuno's request saying that such news was sure to be blown to international standards and she did not want Ryoma-kun to worry about his coach's situation when he had such an important match coming up. Everybody acquiesced but they were still waiting for something.

The wait was for Sakuno to cry for the girl had not shed even a single tear. Crying was an important part of letting go of a person and the lack of tears from the girl signified to her worried guardians that she was still feeling guilty over it and not sorrowful. They tried their best to make her cry but the girl's stance was firm. Memories of her Obaa-chan or reminiscing with the old Regulars did nothing but increase her guilt. Day after day, Nanjiroh, Rinko or Ryoga found themselves sitting with her and listening to her talk about her grandmother; she would laugh when recounting incidents where people perceived Sumire to be a witch in disguise, strict and evil when she was clearly the opposite for her granddaughter.

In this entire trial, they observed her grow up more and Nanjiroh vaguely remembered commenting that it is in times of adversity that you see a person's true face and what they saw in Sakuno was a warrior who was _trying_ to get up after facing defeat. He could not have felt prouder of his student at that moment and decided forthright that if his son decided not to marry this fine girl after all, he'd officially adopt her and become her guardian because she'd never let down the heads of those who knew her: her family, friends, guardians and herself, most importantly.

* * *

There was a reason that the US Open was called a battlefield and Ryoma Echizen understood it for the first time while playing against the current first seed of the world for supremacy over him. It was unheard of before for a Japanese to rise this high in ranks and equally unheard of someone so young at that except for a chosen five or six people. Before him, only selected, countable on fingers people had managed the feat of winning their first Grand Slam title before hitting the age of twenty.

As the match drew towards the middle, both the players were covered in sweat and panting hard. It had been a long tough battle so far that was predicted to end in a loss for the younger of the two players around the eighth game (5-3 in the favour of the first seed). However, Ryoma's will to survive and surpass all odds rekindled his spirit as he recounted all the years he had given for just this moment away from family and friends, living in an apartment he didn't even want to call home and away from a regular life as a teenager.

The time for showing techniques and counters was over as the two players faced each other. They had both sized up each other in the first four matches at a score of two games each. Now it was just the battle of their wills and Ryoma refused to lose in that. Far too many people were counting on him back at home to emerge victorious and he himself knew he'd never forget himself for making an error on this court. Suddenly, the image of a twelve year old, twin braided brunette flashed before his mind holding a ball saying Nationals No. 1 and he just knew that he had to win because 'A pro tennis player never breaks the heart of a fan,' and that girl was not just a normal fan, she was his first and only acknowledged fan.

Fueled with a passion unbeknown to him, Ryoma started returning the balls and soon he had set the pace of the match. It was in his favour and when the match ended, the court clapped on a new Grand Slam Champion, Ryoma Echizen, the nineteen year old boy from Japan. As Ryoma shook hands with his opponent and congratulated him on a good match he could not but help feel relieved at surpassing the first obstacle of his career.

Amidst the flash of cameras and applause, he took the stage and held up the trophy for the world and it was then that he noticed the swarm of reporters all posing questions to him. He had not anticipated that and felt quite displeased at them for coming too near him and asking questions. He tried to block their voices as he gathered his thoughts before responding to them when one loud voice made itself known pretty well in an obnoxious manner.

"Mr. Echizen? What is your next step after this since you've proved to us that even in the case of death in friends, you have the concentration to go all the distance. What are your further plans?"

The question caught Ryoma off guard. He did not know about any deaths amongst his friends but then he did not know a lot about them except from what Sakuno told him and her mail didn't come through this message. Since he did not want to make an utter fool of himself over international television, he decided to ignore that person's question. However, that person's questions opened up a flood gate of other questions.

"Ryoma? Do you plan to go to commiserate with the family of the deceased?"

"Ryoma Echizen, did the knowledge of the death affect your play?"

"Is it true that those involved in the crash were amongst the only people who are on first name basis with your entire family?"

"Mr. Echizen, why do you think that the death of Ms. Ryuuzaki was hushed up for a week?"

'No … Ryuuzaki … did something happen to her? But how can that be? She just messaged me this morning, didn't she?' Panicked thoughts entering his mind, Ryoma gained control of his emotions and gave a concise reply.

"It was done as part of our agreement beforehand to keep people from speculating on my performance before the match. That will be all, please excuse me."

And with that, Ryoma stepped off the platform making his way to the changing room. He decided to call his brother first to get a hang of the situation but then decided against it. He had a feeling in his gut that he wanted to talk to Sakuno first and rest his shaking nerves. He knew that Sakuno was alive because she had send him a message but the reporter had said otherwise. Taking out his phone, he dialed Sakuno's number hoping that she'd pick it up fast. His wish was granted when Sakuno answered on the second ring.

* * *

"_Sakuno! Are you alright?!" _

"Hai Ryoma-kun …" Sakuno was not in the least bit surprised on receiving that call or being addressed by her first name. She knew that the news would reach him one day but she never expected it to be put across that bluntly so soon after his victory. That left a bitter taste in her mouth simply because it ruined the moment of his victory.

"Ryoma-kun … that was an amazing match. You played great. Congratulations on the title," she added smiling at the memory of his play.

"_Gomen Sakuno. I didn't know about Oba-san or I would have called earlier," _Ryoma replied to the brunette completely looking over her praise.

"There is no need for you to say sorry Ryoma-kun. I am the one sorry here. If only I had driven the car and not her, she would have been happily alive and I would be-"

"_No, no Sakuno! That is not what she would have wanted you to think. You have got to live for her now, fulfill all those dreams she had for you …" _Ryoma cut into the girl's sentence, surprised at himself for the words that came out of his mouth. He, or anyone for that matter, would never have imagined in their wildest dreams the stoic, apathetic prince uttering such words and to a girl at that. He barely stopped himself adding a last part to that because in a few minutes' walk to the room he had realised a very important thing- life was not worth living alone, it was more enjoyable when somebody understood you and would give their all in love for you and he did not intend to make a mistake in his life by letting go of that precious lesson.

'Life truly teaches you lessons in tragedy wherever it strikes and in what form, ne Ryoma?' he noticed his subconscious asking him in a gentle manner and he couldn't help but agree completely with it.

"But Obaa-chan died and I survived, isn't that unfair?" Sakuno asked in growing confusion.

'It's more unfair to me if you died too Sakuno. I hope you realise that before anything else happens,' Ryoma thought closing his eyes while thinking of a suitable reply for the girl which would not overwhelm her already scattered emotions.

"_Death is a part of life and you have to face it like a warrior. Don't tell me you forgot what Oba-san used to say about fighting battles with courage. Do you want to disgrace her teachings like this Sakuno?" _

"No …" Sakuno whispered timidly as she felt a tear dropping from her eyes. She could not taint her Obaa-chan's memories by acting like this otherwise what face will she show to her in the end.

"No … I can't … I can't disgrace Obaa-chan's memory! I have to live for her dreams and I have to fulfill her wishes! She would not wish for me to be dead in place of her … she was better than that … she would want me to live for the both of us and create more memories for the both of us to share when we finally meet each other again," a tear fell for each word she said surprising the girl, her companion on the phone and in her room.

Ryoga Echizen shared in shock at the sight before his eyes and what his brother had accomplished in just a few sentences. He didn't know that the baby in their family had grown up so much. He felt a little relieved at seeing the tears though. It meant that Sakuno had accepted the death and gotten over her guilt and would consciously make an effort now to move onwards with life. His thoughts were broken though when he saw the brunette finally give in to her tears and utter a soft "Obaa-chan" and give in to her tears.

"Obaa-chan! I am so sorry!" the girl suddenly screamed as tears ran down her face and into her free hand.

"_Sakuno …" _Her name was all Ryoma could say as he heard the girl cry on the other side of the phone. For the first time in his life, he wanted to be near her, hold her in his arms and tell her to cry away her grief and pain, give her sorrows to him, comfort her. He remembered her laugh from just a week ago and then promised to himself that this would be the last time that he'd consciously bear her crying in loss. If he'll have his way, he will make sure that all Sakuno did would be laugh in that carefree, infectious manner again and not shed a single tear. All of this made him want to go back to Japan on the next flight available and leave the practice for some time.

He imagined holding her tiny frame in his arms as she cried when after a good twenty minutes or so, he heard her softly saying his name. Alerted to that fact he answered her in confirmation:

"_Yes Sakuno? What happened?" _

"You're going to continue practice for Hard court now right? There is no need for you to come back just because of this. I already have a lot of people here to take care of me."

Ryoma Echizen was silenced by her sentence. How did that girl know what he was thinking and how can she decide what he should do or not in such a situation? He was amazed at how far she'd go to actually support him in what he wanted. A fragment of last week's conversation flashed in his mind when he thought of what she said:

_Tomorrow's the semi-final. I win that, I am one step closer to winning the US Open. However, I am not out for the title only. You know what I mean right? _

_Ryoma _

_Ryoma-kun, I knew about the semi-final. You're playing against 'xxx' right? I'll be rooting for you. However, I realise that you're not only after the title. The title is just a reward, a trophy in itself for you. I know you actually want to be the 1st Seed in the world and meet all sorts of players against whom you can have fun playing tennis while beating them. Best of Luck for tomorrow Ryoma-kun! Your journey in surpassing higher seeds starts from here. _

It was then that he said to himself that Ryuuzaki Sakuno was one Jewel to Treasure and he'd see to it that she get her rightful place in all the jewels of the world. She knew what he wanted and she was willing to make him go for it and leave everything behind while still counting on her for support. He found a slow smile form on his face as he thought of the brunette.

"_Ryuuzaki, I will hold you to your word. Do you want me to go to Australia for the Hard courts?" _

"Hai," Sakuno replied without doubt, her voice a little stable after all the crying she had done.

"_Hn. Then watch out for me start the next year winning on the Australian soil." _

"Hai. Fight-o Ryoma-kun … you can do it …" Sakuno replied to the prince whom she had willingly told to go forth with his dream.

"_Mada mada dane, Sakuno,"_ was all he said out loud as he gave a smirk which deepened when he heard her laugh softly as though she knew why he had said that. His thoughts however betrayed his true feelings at the moment, something he was not sure if he was truly capable of showing to another person for fear of gentle rejection or embarrassment or for fear of coming on too strong in such a little time.

'Of course I can if I have support from a person such as you,' was Ryoma's last thought as he felt a tear fall from his eyes for the first time in his life from ever since he could remember. He did not take care to hide it or rub it away as it just proved to him that his dream was now worth a lot more because not only one but two people were now counting on his success- him and the only person he would share his life with, Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Is it too romantic? Or Out of Character? I thought that Ryoma needed some revelations and that since he had grown up, it would be totally in character for him to behave as such with all the things that he is realising about life and love now. Please leave feedback! It is always a motivating force when writing the next chapter!


	4. Freaks In A Train

**Freaks in a Train**

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**Author's Note: **Hello again everyone! I can finally move around without hurting my foot and so decided to thank you all, my reviewers that is, personally! Your feedback meant a lot to me and actually made me feel much more comfortable writing the story too!

I noticed five or six typos in the last chapter and hope to fix them too for your readability after I post this, I would like to thank those who kept this story alive in it's 'Incomplete' phase by pointing them out, in the order they reviewed:

**EclipseLove, TheBearsDoodle, Jaz-147, yukina-chan15, RikuDai, Enma20, rieai, kichisaburo (guest), DearestELFriend, ulquihime7980, Guest**

Once again:

Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a **review**!

**Disclaimer**: **Prince of Tennis** and all characters are **© Takeshi Konomi**. I just played with some ideas.

* * *

"Ryo-niki!"

Heads turned as they noticed a young girl with long, layered, naturally wavy brown hair flying in the wind gently touched by the falling snowflakes, made her way across the terminal and run to a young man of muscular build standing inside the terminal, leaning on one of the pillars all the while playing with an orange. Said man raised his head and grinned in his state of semi-stupor as he noticed the aforementioned girl who was running even when she reached the young man and grabbing him by his elbow made her way to the train doors.

"Somebody please hold the door," she shouted as she saw the doors starting to close while the man tried to regain his balance which was thrown off by the suddenness of the action, his thoughts clouded as to why she was in such a hurry.

As soon as she shouted that, a hand left the pocket of its owner's jacket and held it open for the girl. The girl and her companion made it in time and as soon as she entered the train, the guy let go of the door and the train started on it's journey.

"Yokatta! We made it," the girl said to her companion with a bright smile on her face as she dusted her clothes for the snowflakes on her clothes. She was dressed in simple blue jeans and wearing a emerald green tunic with it visible from the first two open buttons of her fawn overcoat completing her looks with a silver chain from which hung a sakura petal stylised to give it a three-dimensional effect when light struck it at different angles. Her run across had given her face a pink colour most becoming of her and her eyes shown as she tried to catch her breath.

In her death even, Ryuuzaki Sumire had left her granddaughter comfortably off so that she did not have to worry about anything for which Sakuno was thankful when she first realised that after meeting their family lawyer. She was left enough money that she could very easily finish university and even post-graduate courses without having to work a single day while still keep their house and maintain a dignified way of life. However, her foster family had not seen it sensible for her to live alone and had taken her in the Echizen household greeting her with open arms. If anything, the 'Saa-chan' complex had increased but Sakuno found comfort and peace with Rinko Echizen who treated Sakuno like her own daughter and talked to her on anything which struck their fancy.

Her companion merely leaned on one of the poles near the doors, one foot stretched out in front of him, the other supporting him, placed on the pole while he played with his orange, balancing it on his pointer finger and eyeing the young girl standing next to him as she adjusted her clothes. His hoodie was drawn and his other hand was in the pocket of his jeans as he proceeded to run his eye over the passengers in that particular compartment in a bored way. At first glance, he seemed to be a model due to his ruggedly handsome looks and well-toned body but he was merely a sports person, who looked pretty sleepy at the moment almost as if he had dragged himself to be there, which he had exactly done but it was better than letting his sister run around the city while perverts roamed the city.

Unknown to the pair, a third person looked at them in interest. He was just about to leave the train when he heard a shout to hold the train door and when he saw the pair entering, decided to not bother with leaving the train but rather find out something more about this interesting duo. Anybody who would have seen the two would never have believed for them to be related, let alone siblings. Dressed in black jeans and a hoodie while wearing aviator shades, the stranger pretty much blended with everybody around him much to his liking. That allowed him to observe everything around without appearing to be suspicious or even stand out as somebody who would be even interested in the people who just entered the train.

"Saa-chan! Why are we here so early in the morning? Don't you know it is a crime to wake up at this ungodly hour in winters," the young man, Ryoga Echizen, asked his 'sister' Sakuno Ryuuzaki in a complaining tone stifling a yawn and yanking at the girl's hair from where he stood.

"Ryo-niki! How could you forget what I told you last night? I even asked you to sleep early so that you could accompany me this morning," the girl replied slapping the guy's hand away in a mock affronted look as she hurriedly gathered them into a loose bun and held them up with an oriental comb.

"Hai, hai. I remember that you had to buy a gift for Chibisuke but-" Ryoga replied suddenly turning towards his sister with a mischievous grin plastered on his face, evidently enjoying himself for the question he was now going to pose to the younger girl "-even if I was here on time, why were you late?"

"Sorry. I was busy till late so I overslept …" Sakuno replied in a soft tone as a faint blush adorned her face.

Ryoga Echizen smirked when he saw the girl blush. He knew very well why the girl was late but he just couldn't resist seizing the opportunity to make fun of his brother and 'sister'. Nobody would have thought that Ryoga Echizen would one day see a woman with the intent to protect her from other men considering he took more after his father in not only tennis but also habits. However, he was struck by Sakuno in much the same way as his father and took fancy to the young girl as a sister. The end product of this unheard of event was the birth of a brother whose primary duty was to protect his sister from everybody other than Chibisuke and tease her to death regarding Ryoma too.

"So lover boy kept you up all night yesterday too …" he said attempting to mask a chuckle struggling to come out.

"Ryo-niki!" Sakuno replied in a slightly hushed yet indignant tone as she turned a dark red colour causing her companion to guffaw in laughter at the expense of her discomfort.

"Mada mada daza, Saa-chan," Ryoga exclaimed shaking in laughter now as Sakuno looked the other way. Sakuno may have grown mature mentally but she was still naïve when it came to innuendos and still a little girl about her expressions which was something Ryoga and his Oyaji utilised to the fullest for laughs.

* * *

It had been precisely three months and two weeks since Sumire Ryuuzaki had died in an unfortunate car crash and three months and one week since Ryoma Echizen and Sakuno Ryuuzaki had started talking regularly to each other and with each passing day, Ryoma Echizen had realised that his love for the seemingly helpless girl of the past had grown. It wasn't exactly the wild sort of love that he had often observed being discussed of by peers in his tennis club or old school but the sort that was based on a feeling of warmth. His subconscious had taunted him countless times about turning into a mushy character of a romantic film but he always scoffed at it saying that he was still the same old boy but he now had somebody who can share his grand dream.

What was surprising in itself was not that he had fallen in love but that he had not gone about it in an overly complicated, roundabout way to realise that feeling. It had been as natural in coming to him as a reflex for returning a corner ball except that he didn't have to run about for the ball. It seemed that the ball was directed towards him much like the traits of a Tezuka Zone. However, it appeared to him that he himself was the ball who kept returning to Sakuno despite the path he took. There simply was no escaping her charm. Added to that fact the comfort she radiated when not physically around made Ryoma desire her physical comfort.

After talking about this to his mom, he had asked her for her opinion on Sakuno as a daughter and then told her to draft papers for their marriage early in December. He thought that once done with the legal niceties, he would leave it to his mother to break the question to Sakuno and when she had accepted, he would take her to Australia with him. Since the papers were ready, Ryoma had decided to drop by in Japan and formally propose to Sakuno. However, he had no idea how to proceed along that path and so thought about winging it with that.

Ryoma knew that his father and brother would be aware of everything courtesy of his mom but he had not once directly told them of his wish. He had a feeling that maybe his Oyaji and Aniki had no such idea of these plans because none of them had said anything perverted or exasperating to him in their phone calls or IMs respectively. What he didn't know was that both of these guys knew and both had taken turns in teasing their little 'Saa-chan' at every moment they could seize without giving up on Ryoma's intentions.

Ryoma was also unaware of the construction that had been started to add another smaller, companion house near the back of their temple estate for his and Sakuno's home. When asked what this was for, it was merely replied to the inquirer that it was a precautionary measure for their expanding family and the answer was bought easily by everybody especially since it was answered with the most serious of expressions by the male Echizens.

It was precisely because of these reasons and the fact that he now wanted to see Sakuno in flesh that Ryoma found himself on a train headed towards his family house on a cold December morning wearing inconspicuous clothes and waiting for his stop. Just as he was about to get off, he heard a shout to hold the door open and when he saw Sakuno running across the terminal and dragging his brother with him, he decided to comply with her wishes, stay in the train and observe them. In the past few months, he had come to know of her a lot from a digital life but seeing her in person and trying to move on from his spot had proved too much for him and wanting to know more about her in her comfort zone in real life had made him curious.

The dark-haired male looked at the two brother and 'sister' engaged in small talk. It was strange for him why they were talking in English when they could have easily conversed in Japanese but since he himself was very proficient in English, he had no problem in following their conversation. He knew that his brother was proficient in English too seeing that he had spent an equal amount of time travelling the world but he was not aware of Sakuno being good enough to successfully converse in it and having little traces of an accent added to that. She must have worked in the past four years because even when he had left after completing Junior High she was not at that level where she was now.

As a result of this small discovery, he smiled in relief at knowing that if he actually took her with him on his tours, he wouldn't have to worry about her being new to everything. He smile soon turned into a smirk when he paid close attention to the conversation noticed the girl blushing on the guy's offhand comment at her being late and pulling his hoodie down said to himself 'Mada mada dane, Sakuno' trying his best to control his laughter too.

He adjusted himself in his seat in a more comfortable pose, closing his eyes while still remaining in the zone of their conversation. Presently, his brother asked Sakuno another question.

"So what are you going to give Chibisuke for his birthday?"

"I was thinking of actually making a bentos of his favourite foods and then sending it by courier to him. I knew that he liked Japanese food in Junior High and Oba-sama told me about his favourite foods from those that I know how to cook so I decided to go to the produce market to buy the grocery items first while you'll look for a temperature control, vacuum-enclosed bentos for me," Sakuno replied while playing with the sakura petal hanging from her neck.

Both the brothers were shocked in their respective places. Ryoma's eyebrows rose up high enough to touch the sky it seemed, his eyes opened wide while the orange Ryoga was playing with seemed to miss his hand and plummeted towards the floor but both of them recovered as quick as they could, Ryoma closing his eyes back as they were before as he smirked while Ryoga bent down to catch the orange before it hit the floor. Both brothers had the same thought on their mind:

'Ryuuzaki Sakuno you are something else. I am lucky to know someone who'd go these lengths for me just because of something like food.'

'Ryuuzaki Sakuno you are something else. Chibisuke better take care of someone who'd go these lengths for him otherwise I'll beat him for breaking your heart after Oyaji gets done with him.'

"What will you be buying for him Ryo-niki?" Sakuno asked when she saw that Ryoga had not given him any response.

Ryoga grinned as he replied, "Nothing. Oyaji and I planned to kick him senseless in tennis this time when he came back in a two against one."

"I wouldn't really count on that happening. He can take on you both at once you know," Sakuno replied remembering a memory of the times when their Senpai-tachi used to practice with many-against-one.

Ryoma grinned from his spot as he observed his lady defending him in front of his brother. He remembered that time too with his Senpai-tachi and decided to visit them this time since he was back and all. He kind of missed their antics.

"My my such confidence you have in lover boy," Ryoga replied grinning wider.

"Ummm … I-" Sakuno was about to reply when the train lulled to a stop at the station and a group of people started piling into the train. Moving closer to the spot where Ryoma sat and sitting on the chair right next to him, she waited for the crowd to clear thinking of a suitable answer for that well-placed confidence.

It took all the strength Ryoma had in him to resist taking Sakuno's hand as she sat down next to his seat. He wanted to observe them more before making himself known and possibly eliminating all chances of seeing Sakuno interact in real life. He had a feeling that she would not be that confident while talking to him face-to-face.

As the crowd cleared, and Sakuno got ready to stand up and move back to her spot near Ryoga, a boy not much older than Ryoma bounded across the compartment and jumped on Sakuno, glomping her and shouting, "Sakuno-chan!"

Ryoma fought his impulse to get up and throw the man off her as the man continued to hold his lady in a deathly trap while Ryoga, bound by no such limits actually threw the assailant off as he said, "Oy! You're going to make her dizzy! Get! Off! Her! You! Freak!" Ryoga said enunciating each word with pull as he tried to remove the crazy man off of Sakuno.

"Saa-chan! Are you alright? Tell me you can breathe?" Ryoga asked rubbing Sakuno's back.

"Yeah, yeah. I can. Arigatou Ryo-niki," Sakuno replied smiling to dispel the concern on her brother's face for the well being of her assailant.

The assailant stared in surprise at the two people and blinking his eyes said stupidly, "Oye~ What are you doing stealing Ochibi's girlfriend, nya?!"

Three people gave violent starts as they heard that statement.

"Kikumaru-senpai! Iie … iie … that is not the case!"

"Ochibi's … girlfriend! Saa-chan! Lover boy will kill that Ochibi if he hears this clown!"

'_Eiji-senpai, next time I see you, you are dead.'_

Sakuno frowned as she heard Ryoga's reply and turning to Eiji with an apologetic smile pushed him into the seat right next to where Ryoma was sitting and whispered to him in English, "Ochibi is Chibisuke, Ryo-niki. Don't create a scene here."

Ryoma twitched upon hearing Sakuno call him Chibisuke. It was torture enough when his Aniki did that but to think that the girl he liked was calling him by that made him quite mad, he was neither a Chibisuke or Ochibi anymore. All he could do at that moment though was think up of something on which he could tease the girl in private. His eyes shining as his brain thought, _'Sakuno, you are going __to pay for calling me Chibisuke, even if it was unintentional,'_ as a smirk adorned his face. His subconscious decided to pop as usual in such situations with an offhanded comment of Ryoma being still the same old teaser even if he was in love with the subject of tease which Ryoma effortlessly ignored saying that being in love didn't mean you lose your nature.

Sakuno was probably the only girl who could talk to the males in the Echizen family in this way and get away with it apart from Rinko. Not even Nanako was taken _that_ seriously by either Nanjiroh or Ryoga. So when she said that to Ryoga, he calmed down and decided to ignore the clown named Kikumaru. The older boy also felt the man sitting next to him flinch when Sakuno had whispered to him. Ignoring him however, he decided to pick on the choice of words of the poor girl who had only meant in kind. His eyes narrowed as he turned towards the girl and smirked causing her to look at him with wide eyes. Seeing that he had gotten her complete attention, Ryoga said, "So, Chibisuke is Ochibi, ne Sakuno?"

The girl could only clear her throat and mutely nod to his query but on seeing his eyes narrow more, had the presence of mind to say, "No, no! Ochibi and Chibisuke are different! Kikumaru-senpai was talking about Ryoma-kun. The regulars were always under the impression that I was Ryoma-kun's … uh no … never mind …" the girl ended her defensive argument becoming flustered with the situation. She honestly didn't know what was wrong with herself. She had never before been that flushed with blood when Echizen Ryoma's name was mentioned. It had started pretty recently, ever since he had started calling her every night.

Eiji Kikumaru just stood there at a loss for words. The man- who- _looked-a-lot-_ like- Ochibi was talking to their Sakuno-chan and it seemed that he must have said something wrong for her to suddenly blush like mad. Not controlling himself, he completely ignored the situation and just wailed, "Sakuno-chan! If it is nothing like what you said, what are you doing with this _thing_ and where is Ochibi, nya?!"

Ryoma mentally swore at his senpai for causing a ruckus in the train and wondered for the umpteenth time in his life knowing them why he missed them. He had to give credit to Kikumaru-senpai on calling his Aniki a thing and getting away with it though so he let the moment pass as it balanced the situation for him. Sakuno however, realising that she was ignoring her senpai, turned around and bowing to him in apology decided to make introductions before things got louder.

"Kikumaru-senpai, this is Ryoma-kun's Aniki, Ryoga Echizen -san," she said pointing to Ryoga, "and Ryo-niki this is our senpai from Seishun Gakuen, Eiji Kikumaru-senpai," she said gesturing towards Eiji adding by way of explanation, "Ryo-niki is helping me shop for the day senpai. What brings you here?" she finished with a smile.

"Nya! You're Orange -kun, right? I remember you! You played with Ochibi on that cruise ship," Eiji said as he recognised the older Echizen, who just nodded, and then turned towards Sakuno saying in a whisper (by his standard), "They are really brothers! Even their attitude is the same, nya Sakuno-chan?"

Ryoga stared for just a split second at the clown in front of him and assessing that he was no more of a threat to their Saa-chan unless he decided to glomp her muttered to himself, "Che … Chibisuke sure knows a lot of troublesome people." He noticed the man next to him nod slightly, sigh and say "Yeah," in English.

Ryoma cursed himself at that little slip, hoping that his brother would not have caught it but alas, when was life ever fair with him if any one of his Senpai-tachi was in the vicinity. It was as if Kami-sama had his fun with Ryoma when the regulars were around, being in alliance with them. So, when he saw his brother turn towards him with a meaningful grin, Ryoma knew he was caught and had lost his chance to observe Sakuno in a natural environment. He removed his glasses slightly and glared at his brother like he had never before who continued to grin in that teasing manner.

"I won't sell you as this day will turn more interesting for you now, just wait," Ryoga said to Ryoma as he leaned back in his spot and put his hands under his head.

"Oooh, now I am scared," Ryoma replied, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

"You should be," Ryoga said turning towards Ryoma, his eyes narrowed and a grin on his face.

The two were too absorbed in that little encounter to notice Sakuno and Eiji talking animatedly. However, their battle of glares ended when Kikumaru threw his hands up in the air and shout, "You're going to the produce market, nya? That is the last stop, even after Seishun Gakuen. You'll meet everybody this way as everybody from the regulars is headed to the Campus for old times sake and will board this train at their respective spots. Just like old times, nya Sakuno-chan!"

The two brothers stared at each other in horror. This was going to be a long train ride with freaks loose in this compartment. Freaks that were meant to be caged for the sanity of the rest of the world. Freaks that had allied the two brothers in a common objective- keep Sakuno/Saa-chan safe from them and run for their lives (figuratively of course) back to the Echizen haven.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the late update, I meant to finish the story last week but due to a end-of-holidays party I couldn't and then my classes started since Monday. I do not plan to make you guys wait a lot, I have the entire story thought out, including a 'Special' Epilogue and just need to type it. Since I use my Fridays to get some much needed sleep accumulated over the week, I'll post the chapters on Saturday.

Also, I had mails, IMs, phone calls and such of Ryoma and Sakuno planned too for the 3 months that I have shown which passed in this chapter. If you want to, I can start a drabble-ish sort of thingy for them too.

Don't forget to leave a **review**!


	5. Ryoma's Battle for Love

**Ryoma's Battle for Love**

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**Author's Note:** Hello again everyone! I am sorry for the long absence. University and research kept me busy. I am on holidays and hope to update and finish this in case one of my reviewers turns a murderer and come strangle me while I am unaware. Your feedback on the previous chapter meant a lot to me and actually made me feel comfortable writing the story too, especially your acceptance of Ryoga's character and the 'Saa-chan' Complex!

I would like to thank those who accepted the characters as a part of growing up and not as out of character behaviour. This will be a three-part chapter where we will observe Ryoma in his task of observing Sakuno in her natural environment and how he fights for his love.

The characters will once again retain some of their natures observed in the series with added elements as a part of growing up. University students know how to have fun too and that is my basis in drawing added portions of the characters. Whatever the age, it is the University students who know how to have fun :)

Once again:

Please enjoy and do not forget to leave a **review**!

**Disclaimer:** **Prince of Tennis** is **© Takeshi Konomi**. I just played with some ideas.

* * *

**The Echizen Brothers vs. the Seigaku Ex-Regulars**

* * *

"Are you sure these are your senpai and not some lunatics who are needed for drug testing?" Echizen Ryoga asked his younger brother as he observed the ex-regulars of Seishun Gakuen talking to his ward, Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

"I have wondered about that at times too," Ryoma replied turning his face away from the unsightly scene of Sadaharu Inui offering Sakuno a chocolate bar.  
"Make sure that Sakuno does not eat anything given by Inui senpai. It might be dangerous for her," Ryoma told his brother in English. He did not wish her an early death and knew Inui's tendencies when it came to testing his products.

"Huh? What do you mean?" the older boy asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Too long a story to tell, just do it."

"Saa-chan," Ryoga called the girl surrounded by her seniors. "Saa-chan …" he called again to no use. "Saa-chan!" a shout this time as he noticed the girl extending her hand for the chocolate.

The girl in question, Sakuno excused herself and went to her brother, a little frown on her face. "What, Ryo-niki?" she asked, her expression a little stern at Ryoga's antics. She knew that he did not want the Regulars to mingle with her but out of friendliness and old times' sake when she had fun with them, she could not respect Ryoga's wishes.

"Are you sure that you want to give Chibisuke such an elaborate gift? He will not mind it in the least if he does not get to eat it, I am sure of it. Why can't we just stop at the mall and get him a tennis racket?"

"Because that would be thoughtless and something a person who doesn't know him will give him. There is more to Ryoma-kun than just tennis and tennis rackets."

"But he'll appreciate it nonetheless because it is from one of us."

"That's no reason to not make him feel special with a well thought of gift."

"Saa-chan, I knew you'll play favourites when it comes to Chibisuke and me," Ryoga started, trying to change his approach, playful tears sparkling in his eyes, ready to fall at a moment's notice, "and he has not even joined us in person for any-"

"Ryo-niki, I did not just attend advanced culinary classes for fun and you know it. I plan to make Ryoma-kun one of the best bento he has had in the past seven years and your fake tears will not fool me. Now I'd like it a lot if you treat my senpai-tachi with some respect or you won't be getting that orange sherbet cake that I was planning on giving you when we got home," Sakuno finally said in an exasperated tone.

Ryoga's eyes suddenly perked up at the offer and he immediately replied, "Now Saa-chan, no need to get hasty, I was joking with you."

"Coward," Ryoma muttered to his brother as he saw Sakuno make her way across their seats and towards his seniors.

"Well you haven't tasted her wonderful food so you won't know what I am talking about."

"And here I clearly remember you saying that I won't mind it in the least if I don't get to eat it," Ryoma said with a hint of mockery in his tone.

"Well if you haven't eaten it yet, you don't know what you are losing. I have, so I know."

"Just admit that you got owned by Sakuno, Aniki, nobody will make fun of you," Ryoma said, a grin on his face at his brother's expense.

"Wait till she does that to you," Ryoga replied rolling his eyes.

* * *

Sakuno just shook her head and returned to her seniors. She loved the Echizen family, there was no doubt about it but sometimes their behaviour just evaded her.  
_Must be that 'living in the moment' thing Oji-san was talking about,_ she thought to herself as she made her way across the small distance and towards the boys from Seishun Gakuen.

By the time, she had returned, eight young, athletic and very handsome young men had grouped up in a circle and were talking to each other, exchanging pleasantries. A little hesitant to intrude at that particular moment, Sakuno was about to turn back when one of them turned and gave Sakuno a flicker of a smile.

"Tezuka Buchou! What are you doing back in Tokyo? I thought that you were in Germany working on your research?" Sakuno asked a little surprised.

"I was until I got 19 calls from Inui," the stoic captain replied to his coach's granddaughter.

"The New Year Festival was coming up. All of us thought that it had been a long time since we had met up. So we decided to make use of the winter break and have a reunion of sorts," Inui said in an explanatory manner, "This being the last day of classes officially, we decided to hang out before we got busy in our university life again."

"That's nice," Sakuno replied smiling as she greeted the newly arrived Oishi, Fuji, Kawamura, Momoshiro and Kaidoh.

"Ne, Sakuno-chan, do you still bake?" Fuji asked, as she was about to back off without being obvious about it, deciding to give them their group time.

"Yes, why?" she said, a little surprised at Fuji's question.

Roaming his gaze in the entire train, he observed one particular traveller's shoes and said, "Oh, nothing, I just thought we'd have some fun in the train."  
_Echizen, how naïve of you to think that I will not recognise you because you are in a disguise,_ Fuji thought. _In addition, an incomplete one at that as you forgot to exchange your sneakers with that trademark **R**. I am going to have so much fun just trying to test your limit of remaining anonymous._

"Don't you think that we should wait to get off until we start with all the fun?" Oishi asked in a semi-worried tone.

"Oishi relax, we'll be doing a community service," Fuji replied smiling.

"How is that community service if we play in a train Fuji-senpai?" Momoshiro asked.

"Well, according to statistics by the National Transport Bureau, 78% of the people who use trains this early are either students or office employees studying or working by the clock and with little time for entertainment. In addition, according to my observation, 82% of the passengers in this train fit that category. If we play, we will provide these people with a reason to smile and feel energetic increasing their output capacity at work by at least 45%, ensuring that they don't turn into robotic beings with protoplasm," Inui replied reading off a green binder that he was carrying in his bag.

"Fujioko ~ when are we starting community service, ne?" Kikumaru said, excited at the prospect of another one of their instantaneous games. "Are you going to play too Tezuka?"

"I'll wait till we get to the campus," Tezuka replied moving towards an empty seat next to Ryoma and then greeting him in a low voice, "Echizen."

"Buchou," Ryoma replied before he could stop himself and stared at his brother and captain open-mouthed as he realised his mistake.  
_Is there anybody here who has not looked through my disguise?_

"Relax, it's just me, Tezuka and Fuji who know about you, nobody else," Ryoga replied looking at him, knowing what would be going through his mind from his look.

"Fuji-senpai knows about it too? How do you know that?" Ryoma asked turning to his brother, Tezuka shortly forgotten.

"His eyes lingered on your sneakers."

No sooner had these words left Ryoga's mouth that Ryoma realised his biggest mistake. In the excitement of meeting his family and Sakuno, he had forgotten to change his regular shoes for something generic.  
_It is too late to do anything. Let us hope nothing comes out of it,_ he told himself as he asked about his captain while Fuji cleared his throat for an announcement.

* * *

"I don't know why I got paired up with you Mamushi! You're going to make me lose on a rare chance," Momoshiro seethed as he searched frantically for a red ribbon tied as a formal bow everywhere in their compartment.

"I don't know why I got paired up with you! You're slowing me down as usual with your stupidity," Kaidoh replied as he searched for the same object trying to spot it before his partner and all the other teams.

The game was simple. A list of 15 objects compiled by Inui given to six boys divided in teams was distributed. The teams were Fuji and Kawamura, Oishi and Eiji, Kaidoh and Momoshiro. The team to spot and get a picture of it or the item itself first and present it Inui for every successive round would be the winner and those who were last for three rounds would have to face an elimination penalty- drink Inui's Special Nutrient Juice, recently modified for students working until late for university. The overall winner would get a lunch buffet coupon at Kawamura Sushi Bar courtesy of Kawamura Takeshi. Apart from that, they'll also be getting an entire Death by Chocolate Cake baked by Ryuuzaki Sakuno, the permission of including her in their game not really asked for but still given by one Ryoga Echizen who thought that he could get away with a slice of the cake too.

So far in the task, Fuji and Kawamura were in the lead with 3 points, followed by Kaidoh, Momoshiro, Eiji and Oishi with 2 points each. That meant that even if Team Fuji came last this time it was safe for them while the other two teams were in danger of making a fool of themselves in a train. As luck would have it, the first ones to pass out were Eiji and Oishi as they could not find a red bow anywhere having looked everywhere except for possibly outside the train as well and noticing the surrounding decorations. Dealt with suitable punishment, their reaction to the juice was scarring enough for Momoshiro and Kaidoh to renew their efforts and use their renewed three chances to win and get that cake/buffet coupon.

The Echizen brothers had no direct relation to the game per se but the inclusion of a last minute change in plans irked them to no end, the changes being: the last place would now get the buffet coupons much to the enjoyment of certain travellers as they observed Eiji jumping after his inhumane punishment shouting joyfully about unlimited Anago; the second place would get the Death by Chocolate cake, a reward amazing in itself as everybody knew how delicious Sakuno's chocolates were; and the first place would get to spend the entire day of 24th December with Sakuno, taking her out and later having a meal with her.

Ryoma's reaction to this was as expected by his brother who couldn't help a grin off his face knowing his younger brother could do nothing to stop that outing.

"Over my dead body," Ryoma muttered after he had heard the changes.

"Huh?" Ryoga asked, enjoying himself as he heard Ryoma mutter something.

"I said I'll only allow them to take my wife on a date on my birthday over my dead body," Ryoma said with a little more force to his brother.

"What? She can't be your wife until she says yes and what do you plan to do on your birthday with her anyway?"

"None of your concern," Ryoma replied concisely as he glared at his brother for added effect from under his glasses.

"Oh, do you want me to warn Oyaji about possible activity from you in the horizontal direction?" Ryoga replied grinning mischievously now.

Tezuka was about to have an aneurysm at what he had heard realising that there was a side to the Echizen brothers that he was not even aware of!

Their discussion was cut short when a shout erupted from the crowd on the sides as Kaidoh and Momoshiro successfully took the picture of Hiro-X and Kimeru from a billboard and rushed to Inui for the next task. Eyeing the Regulars distrustfully, Ryoma glared at them from his general direction muttering, "Not if I can help it."

However, before he was about to take action, Tezuka got up from his seat and went to stand beside Inui's place. Noticing the next item on the list, he decided to end the game by getting that item before things got out of hand from Ryoma's corner. His intentions misjudged by Ryoma when Inui announced Tezuka the winner of the game due to people cheering for him landed him in trouble with the younger Echizen who was getting up and carefully walking towards his old group. However, the older Echizen showed responsibility for the situation and held his other ward back.

"Ryoma, don't create a scene here. It's all in fun! Don't you know that Sakuno would not go ahead with this plan knowing that she'll be busy making sweets for your birthday to send them to you?" Ryoga said a little harshly.

Realising the situation, Ryoma looked at his brother and turned the other way muttering something along the lines of how he knew that.

Noticing the scene before him brought a smile to Fuji's face as he realised that he had yet again broken somebody's limits of patience and patting his ego in a congratulatory manner on the back, he moved to the others and warned them about their stop just about to come.

* * *

**Ryoma Echizen vs. Ryoga Echizen**

* * *

The Echizens did not breathe in relief until the troublesome Regulars had left the train and after that, Ryoma became a stranger to Ryoga again and Ryoga continued talking to Sakuno. Something Ryoma had said earlier was running through his mind. He had known for some time about his brother's intentions to marry Sakuno but now that he had said it himself, Ryoga wanted to know how he'd go about proposing to Sakuno not that it wasn't any of his business but he knew his brother. And he also knew that Ryoma would be thankful about it one day. With these thoughts in mind, he decided to steer the topic of their discussion towards marriages and proposals.

"Saa-chan, what do you plan to do after university?"

"Are you that eager to get me out of the house Ryo-niki?" Sakuno asked turning towards him.

"No, I was wondering if you'd prefer to stay in Japan or travel the world."

"Well, I could with the money that Obaa-chan left me but I was talking to Oba-sama about these things and she helped me decide that it would be better for me to marry after university or at least get engaged and then pursue further studies," Sakuno replied a little thoughtfully, still doubtful as to why her Oba-sama had wanted her approval of marriage just after university.

"Oh really," Ryoga said, a grin now forming his face, "So what would be your ideal proposal?"

Ryoma's ears perked up at this question and he craned his neck a little to the side to hear Sakuno's reply without missing a word of it. If this was an intentional conversation, then he was thankful to his brother and if it was a spontaneous one, then to Kami-sama.

Sakuno eyed the older boy before deciding to give him an answer using that time to carefully compose it, "Well … I'd like it if it were simple and related to something the two of us knew about …" her voice progressively becoming lower as a blush adorned her face. Even though it is normal for siblings to talk about such stuff, this was the first time that they'd had such a conversation.

Flabbergasted, Ryoga asked, "That's it?! What about rings and flowers and bending on the knees and the moonlight and fountains!"

Ryoma felt like kicking his brother hard when he asked that question. Sakuno's reply had made him happy since he now knew that she would not expect anything cliché from him but decided to wait for Sakuno's answer.

Sakuno gave a small laugh and rolled her eyes at Ryoga, "Ryo-niki that is quite a cross-cultural list you've got. Let me see now," she said leaning forward and resting her chin in the palm of her hand, "Judging by my choice … a ring is not necessary as an object of affection has to be traded for me…"

"Even a tennis racket will do?" Ryoga asked interrupting her.

Startled, Sakuno replied, "Yes … but I already have a tennis racket and…" deciding not to finish her thought she moved on to the next object, "for flowers, it's not a compulsory but a nice addition…"

"Any sort of flowers?"

"Mmmm … and I hate the bending of the knees. I think I might laugh at the guy for doing such a thing and that won't be nice, right?"

"Right," Ryoga replied in an expressionless manner as he thought how lucky Ryoma was for getting off easily.

"And the moonlight or fountains just happen in fairy tales, not in real life," Sakuno finished happily.

"Right ~" Ryoga replied deliberately dragging it as he took in the irony of the situation. This hopelessly feminine girl was actually not that feminine when it came to actual things.

"Oh, Ryo-niki, you get off at this stop, remember? You need to get me that bento while I'll drop off at the next for the grocery market."

"I do," Ryoga replied turning to his sister. Discreetly signalling his brother to follow him and not Sakuno, Ryoga got up to stand beside the door and left at his stop.

* * *

"That girl is crazy, right?"

"Why did you drag me with yourself and not leave me with her?"

Both boys asked each other the minute the train doors had closed and they made their way outside.

Ryoga decided to answer the question asked of him by saying, "We're going to get her something better than a bento. We're going to give her a dream proposal."

Ryoma looked at his brother as if he had gone crazy. "What do you mean her dream proposal? You know she expects nothing in a proposal?"

"Well that is exactly what we've got to fix?"

"We've got nothing to fix! You can't fix what isn't broken!"

"What she said meant broken even if she smiled! And we HAVE got to fix it!"

They were both a little loud and starting to catch the attention of the other travellers so Ryoga decided to head towards an open area where they could have their private conversation. Walking towards their destination, Ryoma asked his brother, "So you're a psychiatrist now Aniki?"

"No."

"So how do you know what she means?"

"Look Chibisuke … no wait … Ryoma," Ryoga began, quite possibly serious for the first time with his brother, "You studied with Sakuno, went to camps with her, possibly knew her pretty well when you were in junior high but after that, you got busy in your life. For the past four years, I have seen her grow up as a brother does for a sister. She has grown up from a confused, clumsy, forgetful and navigationally challenged girl to this determined woman who won't lose in the face of adversity." Ryoga turned towards his brother as he said all that, noticing his facial expressions.  
"I'm not saying she's perfect but that she has the sense to put her faculties to use and be a productive member. Oyaji and I, we have seen her and helped her grow into all that and still want to continue doing that. However after Obaa-san's death, she has done a lot of growing up that we never wanted. She has changed from the young, carefree girl she was in spite of all her problems to this closed and distant girl. It's like she has accepted the death but also made a compromise with life to continue living as it came along with no wishes in particular," here he stopped and kicked a pebble to the side of the road.  
"This is painful to be honest and I want her proposal to be perfect to make her believe that it is not childish to keep dreaming or else life will just lose colour," Ryoga finished his soliloquy, looking at his brother.

"So, why didn't she tell all of this to me?"

Ryoga looked at his brother and shook his head wondering if he was stupid or just playing along.

"Well … when you stopped responding to her mails, she was initially heartbroken and decided to stop sending you any mails. She thought that she was being a nuisance to you but we told her that it was not the case and you must have had your reasons for doing that. Our rationale was that contact with her would keep you in touch with back home and also that you will come to realise her bias towards you but that did not happen. To cut a long story short, she decided that maybe you felt nothing for her and decided to always offer her support as a friend."

Ryoma digested all the information as new questions kept coming up in his mind. "So what about the last three months, how does she define that?"

"That is a question you both need to figure out for yourself," Ryoga replied as he turned his face towards the right and entered a shop, leaving Ryoma standing by the curb deep in thought.

_One question that I intend to find the answer to this evening,_ Ryoma thought as he entered the shop.  
"Wait! That is not a bento shop, this is a jewellery store!" he exclaimed when he noticed the stands in front of him.

"Nice observation genius."

"But what are we doing here?"

"Public service," Ryoga replied concisely.

"Huh?"

"Time to give a girl her perfect proposal," Ryoga replied grinning.

"But I am not ready for that!" Ryoma exclaimed in a very familiar bratty way.

"Trust me, we were not ready for you too but you came so we have to be ready for everything related to you as well," came Ryoga's flippant reply and then in that same tone to a salesperson, "We'd like to look at wedding rings."

"So, she's that special to you," Ryoma asked his brother, joining him by the counter, giving up on his stubbornness for a certain brunette.

"Yeah, and you'd better take care of her or else Oyaji might favour her over you. He was already planning to make her a legally adopted daughter in case you didn't get a grip on yourself and asked her," Ryoga replied looking intently at the rings.

"Scoot," Ryoma said, moving forward and looking at what Ryoga had ordered.

As Ryoga made space for his brother, he noticed him looking intently at the rings and then he noticed nothing as Ryoma had grabbed his collar and was now shaking him.

"Oye, Chibisuke, what is the meaning of this?" Ryoga asked trying to get out of Ryoma's grip.

"You told me this long story of making a girl's dream come true and are now going to give her a generic wedding ring!"

"I thought that rings were the right way to do things for her!"

"Are you stupid or just playing dumb?"

"Funny, I could have sworn I thought the same thing about you a few minutes ago."

"Were you not paying any attention to her in the train?"

"Why were you listening to a private conversation between a brother and a sister?"

It was at this moment in the shaking and trying to get out of a grip that the salesperson decided to intervene, "Oye you two, stop fighting. This is a respectable establishment and we serve to high ranking clientele so if you continue doing that, I'd have to have you thrown out for violence."

Ears perked up at the phrase 'thrown out', they both let go of each other and adjusted their hoodies.

"Violence, what violence, where is this violence?" Ryoga asked looking at the salesperson smiling in a sickeningly sweet way, "We were just showing our love for each other, isn't that right, Chibisuke?"

Ryoma eyed his brother in a distasteful way and replied, "Yes Aniki," as if he was the epitome of dutiful, younger brothers across the globe. He then decided to take advantage of this moment and added, "I hope you don't mind if I choose what I want to give to my wife," successfully taking the situation under his control and choosing a proposal gift.

* * *

**Ryoma Echizen vs. Nanjiroh Echizen**

* * *

As the two brothers made their way back together, they thought about their day so far.

Ryoga who was not counting on the appearance of the Regulars was slightly thankful to them for eliciting a response from his brother while at the same time angry at them for no particular reason. He was also surprised at Ryoma and how much of a grownup he was despite his bratty behaviour from their time at the jewellers. Lastly, he looked forward to what he was about to do to him on reaching home.

Ryoma, on the other hand was thinking about Sakuno and justifying all his previous actions regarding her … again. He had no idea what awaited him at home and so joined Ryoga on his way back, feeling slightly nostalgic about the place and people inhabiting it, wanting to meet them very much.

As the two boys made their way inside, the usually quiet house sprung to life as Rinko got up to hug her youngest son while Nanjiroh just whistled about how the prodigy returned for a girl and not for family. Glaring at his father, Ryoma made his way to his room and noticed that it had remained unchanged in order except for it being cleaner when it came to his perpetual mess. Cleaning up himself, he joined his family for snacks and later retired to the courts with his brother and father for some friendly matches.

On his way out via the back door, he heard Sakuno entering the house with a cheerful 'Tadaima'. Deciding to not confront her at the moment, he left slinging his racket on his left shoulder.

* * *

"So seishounen, what do you plan to do with my daughter?" Nanjiroh asked Ryoma as he served him.

"Why does everybody keep forgetting that I am actually related to you while she will be lawfully related to you after marrying me," Ryoma replied, a little annoyed that Sakuno had deputised his place in their family.

"It's not what you think, she has not taken your place," Ryoga replied from the chair, noticing the frown Ryoma had on his face, "It's just what I told you."

"I understand but still …"

"Tell you what, we'll tell you all about her growing up and her life with us for every point you manage to take against us," Nanjiroh said from his side of the court, trying to spice up the game. "We'll make it easy for you, we'll include shots that are out as well," he added trying to fuel his son's game knowing that he'll respond hot-headedly to such an insult at home.

"Why don't we make it difficult rather than easy? Let's make it two against one and I get one story for every point I take," Ryoma said falling easily into their trap and responding to their wish.

However, that match was not meant to be. As soon as the three males took their place, Sakuno called out to them from the kitchen shoji.

"Oji-san‼ Ryo-niki‼ Nanako-chan is here! Oba-sama is calling you. Please hurry up; I'll just be setting up tea and desserts."

And without any warning the two elder Echizens left the younger one standing wide-eyed in court, rackets on their shoulders and speculating what they'll have for tea. Their speculation was cut short when they heard another announcement.

"I'll fix up an Orange Sherbet cake too even if you don't deserve it Ryo-niki‼"

"What do you mean by that Saa-chan? I was nice to your senpai-tachi, weren't I? I ignored them completely after that!" Ryoga replied running towards the house, Nanjiroh following him at his own pace chuckling at them while Ryoma stood astounded that everybody had forgotten him and moved for tea.

"Oyaji, where are you running off too? You were supposed to tell me about Sakuno!"

"Later seishounen ~ we've got a cake to attend to at the moment," Nanjiroh replied waving his hand and going downhill towards his house.

Still deciding whether he wanted to crash their little tea party or observe Sakuno more, he moved towards his house and towards the kitchen window.

Sakuno had taken off her overcoat and replaced it with a knee-length sweater which showed off more of her shirt than the previous item of clothing.

Swearing in his mind for the impulsive course of action that he was about to take and blaming it all on his day, he opened the kitchen shoji and entered it.

"Ryo-niki, can't you wait for some time, I am coming with the snacks," Sakuno said on hearing the door being opened, her back towards Ryoma.

Without bothering to answer her, Ryoma just grabbed her hand and turned her around.

Sakuno was shocked at the sudden action and was about to shriek at Ryoga or Nanjiroh for not waiting. However, her voice got caught in her throat when she saw the person who was in front of him.

"Ryo- Ryo- Ryo- Ryoma-kun," she finally let out, eyes wide with surprise.

Hearing her stutter like always in front of him made Ryoma smirk as he pulled Sakuno closer and brought his face closer to her ear.

"No cake for me Sakuno?"

"What are you doing here?" Sakuno asked him, ignoring his question as she tried to gather her thoughts which had scattered due to his presence first and now his close proximity.

"Something I should have done some time ago," Ryoma said as he started moving towards the front door of his house and taking Sakuno with her.

"Where are you taking me, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked as she let herself follow him towards the main door.

She received no answer for her question though as the entire Echizen family along with Nanako-chan was staring at them from the sitting room.

"Oye Chibisuke, where are you taking Saa-chan?" Ryoga asked, his orange forgotten as he saw the two in front of him.

"Seishounen, what thoughts do you have in your mind regarding the cute Saa-chan?" Nanjiroh asked in a lazy drawl as he stretched his right leg.

"When did you come home, Ryoma-san? And hello Sakuno-chan," Nanako-chan called out waving towards a confused Sakuno and asking about Ryoma.

"Be back in time for dinner Ryoma and don't forget to wear something warm on the way out!" Rinko called out in the end as the two kept on moving towards the door.

Everybody else just looked at Rinko in surprise and two male voices asked in urgency, "But where are you going Seishounen/Chibisuke?"

As they got up to follow the youngest Echizen, Rinko got up and held them both by their ears and told Ryoma to go ahead with her eyes.

Nodding his head in their general direction and wrapping his hand around Sakuno's, Ryoma waved his hand in a final wave, acknowledging their question with a single phrase.

"Somewhere only We know."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Just so you know, my family played scavenger hunt on a plane for public service. Respectable, serious, otherwise mature adults, they did that for precisely the reason Inui cites here so it is not at all unrealistic for people to do such things on a train for me. And I wanted the readers to know a little about Sakuno from not Ryoma's or her own perspective but somebody else's.

Well, after this we have only one chapter and one epilogue and I will try to finish it in these holidays as after that, I have to start work on my first book :) **Review** please!


	6. Somewhere Only We Know

**Somewhere Only We Know**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hello again everyone! This will be the last chapter for this story. Please enjoy and do not forget to leave a **review**!

**Disclaimer**: **Prince of Tennis** is **© Takeshi Konomi**. I just played with some ideas.

* * *

**Previously:**

"Oye Chibisuke, where are you taking Saa-chan?" Ryoga asked, his orange forgotten as he saw the two in front of him.

"Seishounen, what thoughts do you have in your mind regarding the cute Saa-chan?" Nanjiroh asked in a lazy drawl as he stretched his right leg.

"When did you come home, Ryoma-san? And hello Sakuno-chan," Nanako-chan called out waving towards a confused Sakuno and asking about Ryoma.

"Be back in time for dinner Ryoma and don't forget to wear something warm on the way out!" Rinko called out in the end as the two kept on moving towards the door.

Everybody else just looked at Rinko in surprise and two male voices asked in urgency, "But where are you going Seishounen/Chibisuke?"

As they got up to follow the youngest Echizen, Rinko got up and held them both by their ears and told Ryoma to go ahead with her eyes.

Nodding his head in their general direction and wrapping his hand around Sakuno's, Ryoma waved his hand in a final wave, acknowledging their question with a single phrase.

"Somewhere only we know."

* * *

Ryoma continued to lead Sakuno out of the house. As he reached for the door handle, he felt a push on his hand and stopped for a moment. He turned around to see Sakuno looking at him and pointing towards the coats. Surprised at her common sense still working in his vicinity, he stared at her pointedly and left her hand while she got coats for both of them and grabbed a cap from the stand for him.

"It's cold outside," she said as she put on her coat. Then she took one of Ryoga's coats and held it towards Ryoma; a 19 year old Ryoma whose facial expressions were too similar to his 12 year old self, disinterested and perpetually bored. When Ryoma gave no response as to taking the coat, Sakuno cleared her throat and opened the coat moving towards him.

"I thought you were taking me somewhere."

Ryoma turned his head around to stare in disbelief at the bright-eyed girl and looking at her matter of fact expressions, shook his head and put his hands inside the sleeves of the coat she was holding open for him and fastened its buttons. The instant he had done that, Sakuno handed him a cap, wrapped a stole around her neck and opened the door allowing him to lead her outside. Closing the door, he started moving towards the left slowing his pace enough to match Sakuno's.

"Sakuno, what happened to you?" he asked as they moved forwards.

"Nothing… Why? What happened?" she asked a little surprised at such a question. In her opinion they had talked enough in cyber-world to know that she was all right.

"I remember you being … different. Around me … especially," Ryoma explained his question. He genuinely remembered her being a little flustered and shy around him and the no nonsense, matter of fact behaviour from her before had confused and shocked him.

_'And possibly bruised your ego a little too,'_ his subconscious added, enjoying Ryoma's discomfort.

Great timing for your arrival was all Ryoma could say as he inwardly groaned as he focused his mind on Sakuno's reply.

"Nothing happened to me Ryoma-kun," Sakuno replied softly, "I just grew up, and that's all. Doesn't everybody outgrow the childish habits in them?" she added as she looked at him.

"You never told me why you outgrew the old Sakuno?" he questioned her, a little thrown away with her look, both of them still moving forward.

"Ummm … I'm not sure why …" Sakuno faltered for a moment, "I guess somewhere between the time when Oji-san and Ryo-niki were teaching me everything in High School, I forgot to act in that helpless manner."

"Oyaji and Aniki? What did they teach you?"

"Well, there was the general map of our prefecture, English and tennis. Oh I remember them being pretty mean to me back then," Sakuno replied a faint smile on her face as she remembered the times she had spend with the Echizen elders, the thought of which made her chuckle.

"What is so funny about this?" Ryoma asked his eyebrows scrunched up. Normally, he wouldn't have bothered with that but he was about to propose to the girl and thought he deserved to know everything about her, which he would have if not for the untimely tea announcement.

"Nothing," Sakuno replied, still smiling to herself. However, a look at Ryoma's grim expression made her reconsider her nothing and she elaborated, "It's just that I just referred to Oji-san and Ryo-niki as the Echizen Elders in my mind and if they had heard that, they might have had strokes on being associated with such a word."

"It's more like the Echizen Elders will be having a stroke by now being associated with the likes of those two idiots," Ryoma said drily before he could stop himself.

Sakuno couldn't restrain her laughter at that remark and her chuckle became a full blown laughter. Ryoma's explanation made so much more sense to her as she knew where he was coming from. Her laughter helped ease the tension in Ryoma's mind as she took a deep breath and held onto Ryoma's left bicep.

"You must really feel pity for the Elders ne, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked him.

A little surprised at her action, he adjusted his cap, smiling to himself and answering her in a relaxed tone, "You can say that. But more than pity for them, I feel pity for myself and the future generations of Echizens who will have to have Oyaji and Aniki as their Elders."

"Why must you be so harsh on them Ryoma-kun? They mean no harm to anyone," Sakuno asked him as she looked up at him.

"Of course they don't. It's just that sometimes I think they are too non-serious for everybody's good," Ryoma replied shrugging.

"They are pretty serious about everything related to you or your game," Sakuno started. "It's just that they don't show it to you and everybody else as that will put some sort of unsaid pressure on you."

"Their lack of interests puts pressure on me."

"Oh, there is no lack of interest on their part, believe me. I remember catching them once looking at seed rankings and calculating your scores. They choose not to show it, like I said."

"Why would they do that?"

"I guess it's just them. They both still believe that tennis is about having fun and not unnecessary pressure for winning. When you're having fun, you are inclined to win by your own will."

"They said that?"

"Uh, no. I gathered that from one of their lessons," Sakuno replied in a soft voice as they kept on walking towards their still unknown to her destination.

Thinking that the mood was getting slightly sombre, Ryoma decided to lift it up a notch trying to keep light conversation going on.

"You owe me a match, you know that?" he asked in a slightly mischievous tone.

"Really now? I don't remember promising any of that with you in the past or sometime around now," Sakuno replied, reading the mischief in his tone. She had spent enough time near Echizens to now react accordingly.

"You don't?" mischief evident completely now, he asked.

"Definitely I don't," she replied with a slight shake of her head.

"Then let me remind you of a long due match," Ryoma said as he took Sakuno's hand from his bicep and held it tightly, breaking into a run.

"Ryoma-kun‼ Where are we going?!" Sakuno said as she was sped along the pavement, her hair and scarf flying behind her.

Not replying, Ryoma turned back his head, grinning at her and said, "On a long overdue trip."

_Ryoma-kun is being cryptic today with one-line decisions,_ Sakuno thought to herself as she ran alongside Ryoma. Truth be told, the momentary shock she felt when she had seen him had worn over and she was in a comfortable state of mind and acting in that friendly manner with him that had developed as a result of their recent talks. Even though Ryo-niki and Oji-san made fun of Ryoma being the lover boy for her, she herself refused to believe any of it unless she got a hint of it from Ryoma herself. She did not want to get her hopes up for them to be crushed later.

As they rounded a corner, Sakuno noticed the grounds that they had arrived at the grounds she used to train for tennis in with Ryoma back in Junior High.

"Get ready to play Sakuno," Ryoma said as they both stood under a tree catching their breaths.

"What about our gear?"

"Already taken care of," Ryoma replied, his eyes shining with excitement at the prospect of playing a match with another student of his Oyaji.

"How?" Sakuno asked but then decided to not bother about it and said, "Wait, that doesn't matter. Let's play."

"That's the spirit, Sakuno," Ryoma said as he went towards a grove and took out two tennis kits from behind a tree. Throwing her a racket, he went towards his side of the court and began flexing his racket's gut.

"Ummm … Just so you know, I am not a good player at-"

"Doesn't matter," Ryoma interrupted.

"In fact, I haven't even scored a point against Oji-san in the last four-"

"If you've volleyed with him, that's a feat in itself," he interrupted again as he adjusted his cap now.

"And it's only Ryo-niki that I have actually won a single point from in all this time so …"

"Sakuno, look, I am not here to judge you for your tennis or reprimand you for not scoring points against my family. I'm just here to enjoy a tennis game with you and if you don't start, I swear I'll make you train with me here until you can score a point against me. Understand?" Ryoma questioned looking straight at her.

Sakuno could only nod her head at such a ridiculous threat and the reason behind playing tennis.

"Good. Now smooth or rough?" he asked as he went near the net to do the toss.

* * *

"Oye shounen, are you sure they will be here?" Nanjiroh asked his elder son as they sneaked behind some trees to look at Ryoma and Sakuno on their proposal date.

"Yeah, this is the place we dropped the rackets at after we left the jewellery store," the shounen in question replied to his father.

"But didn't that brat say that they were going to somewhere only they knew?"

"Maybe he just wanted to be mysterious. I don't know. I guess love does that to your brain, make it go haywire," Ryoga shrugged in response as the two father and son found a good spot amongst the trees.

Nanjiroh chuckled mischievously as he glanced at his other son thinking that he'll ask him in his own time of love.

"But how did you get the kits to drop them off here?"

"Well, Chibisuke had left his luggage at Narita terminal in a safe box and he went to retrieve his kit from there. Sakuno's kit I got from sneaking into her room while you and Oka-san were at the temple having rice cakes. Then we met at the sports shop around the block and came here to put the equipment," Ryoga explained to his father as he opened a bag of chips and handed it to Nanjiroh.

"So this was his plan of the perfect proposal?"

"Well … after our fight at the jewellery store, he told me to leave everything to himself so …"

"Oh well, at least he tried," Nanjiroh said scratching his head.

* * *

"Just a minute Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno called for a timeout as she conceded yet another point to Ryoma. Turning around from his direction, she balanced her racket on her left thigh by making a stand out of it, putting it up against her right leg and then roughly tying up her hair in a loose chignon.

Ryoma, meanwhile, stared at her surprised at her balance. Then he called out, "I always told you that your hair were too long to play tennis!"

"Doesn't matter! I play tennis to have fun, not professionally," Sakuno replied as she turned around. Loosening her stole, she took it off and placed it besides their kits, returning to the game.

"Will all of this make a difference?" Ryoma asked dubiously.

"Not at all. It was getting hot because of all the running I had to do," she replied with a slight smile, taking her stance.

"I play good, don't I?" Ryoma asked rhetorically as he served up the ball.

"Exceedingly," Sakuno replied, rolling her eyes as she reached for the ball and hit it back.

The volleying of light-hearted comments and the ball continued for some time until Ryoma threw a particularly curved ball that reached the far end of the court causing Sakuno's hair to go loose and fly open in the wind as she hit the ball back in Ryoma's court.

So entranced was Ryoma by her hair flying in the wind as she hit the shot back, playing his favourite sport (rather his life line) with him that he forgot everything for the moment and stared at the rich brown hair. It was only when Sakuno called out his name to direct his attention back to the ball did he notice what was happening. Even though he caught the ball with years of experience in a higher reach, his concentration was not cemented enough to hit it with force enough to go over to the next court and it resulted in a net ball.

And Sakuno's first point against the youngest Echizen member.

There was stunned silence for a moment.

Then the quiet night was roused by a girlish scream of "I did it! I got a point against Ryoma-kun!"

Ryoma, surprised initially at what had happened called out childishly, "I was distracted Sakuno, that was unfair!"

Sakuno just smiled at him and replied back, "Unfair or not, it is still my point Ryoma-kun. And what was there for you to possibly be distracted with."

"Dense girl," Ryoma muttered as he got the ball when a loud laugh from the grove of trees behind them made him stop.

Nanjiroh and Ryoga realising that their laugh had given them away came out by themselves and stood there looking at the confused couple. The awkward moment was broken by Ryoga as he looked at Ryoma and said in between chuckles.

"Saa-chan, you forgot to say your catchphrase 'Mada Mada Ano'."

"Eh! Why is this my catchphrase?" Sakuno asked surprised at the presence of the Elder Echizens and then their declaration.

"It's an Echizen tradition Saa-chan," Nanjiroh drawled, eyes closed and enjoying the feel of the wind against him as his children talked to each other.

"Hierarchically, Oyaji says 'Mada Mada Daze', I say 'Mada Mada Daza', Chibisuke here says 'Mada Mada Dane' and so you'll say 'Mada Mada Ano'. Ano because that was the first word you said when I met you."

Ryoma struggled to control his grin at Ryoga's flawless observation as accurate as that was for him too. Except Sakuno didn't say 'Ano' when she met him, just a lot of that over the course of their long friendship. And he expected to hear a lot of it in the future too. However deciding to cut the stupid conversation short, he interrupted his brother and Sakuno.

"Aniki, Oyaji! Oka-san messaged. She was asking about you. She wanted to know if I had seen you two since she is cleaning up and wants to feed the rest of the ayu yakizakana that Sakuno had cooked to Karupin."

Both Ryoga and Nanjiroh looked at each other, nodded and told Ryoma to tell her that they were on their way home along with him, guessing that Ryoma was done with his proposal and that was why playing a game of tennis.

Nodding towards them, Ryoma moved towards Sakuno and grabbing her hand, led her towards the grove of trees to pack their kits back. On the pretext of helping her with her bag, he decided to whisper to her about his plans.

"When I say 'Now' Sakuno, just hold onto my hand and follow my lead. I trust you'll do that?" he asked her with a questioning tone to his voice, packing his cap with his rackets.

Sakuno just nodded her head, signalling that she understood him and closing the zip to her bag proceeded to tie her hair again.

"If only you had let me get a barrette before leaving Ryoma-kun," Sakuno muttered as she rolled her hair and put a knot through them.

Ryoma, having no proper answer just shrugged his shoulders and picking both their bags handed them to Ryoga.

"We've been playing for a good hour and a half in the cold. Carry these for us."

Ryoga only rolled his eyes and hung them over his shoulder saying, "I'm only doing this for Saa-chan, not for you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ryoma replied rolling _his_ eyes. "Let's go."

And so the four made their way back to the Echizen household listening to Ryoga and Nanjiroh talking about the dishes they couldn't wait to taste from those made for Ryoma specifically for his birthday.

Ryoma let Ryoga and Nanjiroh lead them by a few steps and as soon as the distance between them was about 15 feet or more, held onto Sakuno's hand and softly telling her 'Now' turned around and started running in the opposite direction.

Noticing the lack of footsteps behind them during a pause in their teasing, Nanjiroh and Ryoga turned around to see the fading figures of Ryoma and Sakuno running towards their destination, unknown to them. Ryoga decided to follow them but was stopped when Nanjiroh put a hand on his shoulder shaking his head and leading him forward towards their home.

* * *

Seeing that no one was following them, Ryoma slowed down and led Sakuno to their old school, Seishun Gakuen. Considering that he had no use of the main building, he made his way towards the school grounds.

"Ryoma-kun, where are we going?" Sakuno asked surprised. The night had been nothing but completely new for her and she was having difficulty keeping up the calm exterior.

"Like I said, somewhere only we know," Ryoma replied looking at her, his eyes shining in excitement and from all the activity of the night before.

Tying her hair yet again, Sakuno followed Ryoma as they neared a sakura tree, the exact same one where he had once given her his racket.

_Special place, checked!_

"Sakuno, you had fun tonight?" Ryoma asked as they reached it.

Being completely truthful, even if it was emotionally nerve-wracking for her, she replied, "Yes, a lot."

"What was the most fun part?"

" … Everything?"

"No, what was the best part?"

She wanted to say 'Spending time with you' but didn't have the courage to say it aloud for deep inside, no matter how much she had outgrew her old self, she still retained a small part of the shy, quiet, suited to the sidelines girl she was. As a solution to her dilemma, she decided to answer him cryptically hoping that he'd get what she was saying.

"I liked the ease with which we could talk in person, the tennis match and even tricking Oji-san and Ryo-niki in the end to run away here," she replied timidly.

"Good, how about we do this again some other time," he said her as he took out a carefully wrapped silk bag that he had put in the inside pocket of Ryoga's coat while packing his tennis stuff to go back home.

Eyes open wide in shock at what Ryoma was doing Sakuno could only stare at the bag and Ryoma himself all sense evading her.

"We have a month here in Japan and then we'll go to Australia," he said further as he untied the string of the bag and took out white gold filigree with a sakura petal of rubies and diamonds hanging from it and moved to tie it around Sakuno's neck.

_Jewellery, check!_  
_Flower, check!_

"Ryoma-kun …" Sakuno breathed as the person in question moved towards her. "What is happening?"

Ryoma stopped to check the question. It was not 'What are you doing? Or even a why are you doing it?' but a 'What is happening?' and he felt like face palming himself for either being dumb enough to not expect it or for Sakuno being really dense.

The case was neither, Sakuno just couldn't believe what was happening and thought that it was all a dream.

"Is this for real?" she asked him more for herself than for anything else.

"Yeah," Ryoma said as he fastened the catch of the chain and held her face, "This is for real. We both had fun tonight and I'd like it to be like this with you until the end. That is why I came back to Japan. For you so that I can take you with me. You don't mind moving to another country with me, do you?"

Sakuno shook her head as she looked up at him. As if the reality of the situation struck her, Sakuno smiled and said, "That was the longest speech I've heard from you in person Ryoma-kun."

Surprised at what she had focused on, Ryoma glared at Sakuno as she laughed at his reaction.

"What? It's true!" she said as she moved her hands towards his hair and brushed a lock of it back.

"I had an entire speech planned but I guess I am not that type of guy. But still, Ryuuzaki Sakuno," Ryoma said as this time he opened the silk bag to take out a ring with a ruby embedded in five diamonds, "you are now my wife," he finished as he placed it on her ring finger.

"What? You just declared that. You're not going to ask my permission?" Sakuno asked, a hint of mischief in her voice, finally happy from the inside at a young girl's crush standing true.

"Nuh uh, because I know you are already mine," Ryoma replied as he dipped his head to capture Sakuno's lips in their first kiss.

_Fantasy setting, checked!_

* * *

**Author's Note: **It has been a pleasure writing this but I have to say that it is difficult writing about a romantic instance when compared to developing a romantic setting. It feels a little awkward. Anywho, **reviews** will be greatly welcomed! I won't be doing anything major now until I have holidays but I do plan to start another University Life fiction of them.

**Happy New Year!**


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